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Ailing Anwar Not Granted Overseas Surgery
by Kazi Mahmood
KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (IslamOnline) - The Malaysian government has last week vetoed any chances that jailed former deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim be given overseas treatment over a back injury.
The decision has caused uproars in the opposition camp which has accused the government of prolonging the "inhuman treatment Anwar was subjected [to] in jail when former police chief… Rahim Noor had beaten him."
Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi reiterated on Thursday that the Malaysian government decided "from the outset that there is no need for treatment overseas. We stick to the decision."
Anwar Ibrahim is seeking specialist medical treatment overseas for a back injury that worsened due to an assault by Noor. Anwar was reportedly beaten while blindfolded and handcuffed by the former police chief. He was attacked several times and fell to the ground from the force of the attack.
The beatings and fall caused Anwar severe pain in his back, the opposition said. His situation deteriorated after October 2000. Anwar had been hospitalized since the end of November as a result.
Anwar Ibrahim's wife, Datin Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, also the leader of the National Justice Party (NJP), told IslamOnline that there is not much time to decide on the surgery. She said the jailed politician was in critical condition and suffering from pain but able to move.
"His condition is such that a endoscopic spinal surgery intervention will have to be carried in the next few weeks. The government is not allowing him to go for operations in Germany, at the Munich-based Alpha Clinic of Dr. Thomas Hoogland," the opposition said.
Hoogland recommended that Anwar be treated at his clinic in Germany and not in Kuala Lumpur, saying that medical facilities in Malaysia did not meet the requirements for such a complicated procedure.
Hoogland said that Anwar should be treated in his specialist clinic in Germany despite arguments from Malaysian doctors who say the Dutch surgeon can perform the operation just as well in Kuala Lumpur.
Anwar's treatment in hospitals since being found guilty for abuse of power and corrupt practices while he was a minister, is a controversial issue in Malaysia.
Members of the ruling component parties of the National Front (NF) have in the past criticized hospital treatments given to Anwar for headaches and an alleged poisoning while his sodomy case was being debated in a Kuala Lumpur court.
The opposition insists that Anwar's health is the responsibility of the Malaysian government and that the they would bear responsibility in case Anwar's health deteriorates.
In his report concerning Anwar's condition, Hoogland said surgery performed on the politician in Germany would have the lowest risks and best prognosis.
The director of Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Abdul Razak, contests the claims, saying he is certain the surgery could be done in Kuala Lumpur itself.
He said endoscopic spinal surgery could be performed in Malaysia as almost all the necessary medical facilities, except for an endoscope, were available locally and could be mobilized at short notice.
Although Razak admits that not a single hospital in Malaysia possesses all the facilities to treat Anwar, he stated that depending on specific cases, the necessary equipment could be brought in from other hospitals in Malaysia.
Razak suggested that the German doctor bring the endoscope from his clinic in Munich alongside "is trusted anesthesiologist if he continues to have doubts in Malaysian trained and professional medical specialists."
Malaysian authorities remain adamant and reluctant to allow Anwar to fly from Malaysia to Germany for the operation, saying that one of the conditions before Anwar was allowed to engage Hoogland's services, was that any surgery be performed at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Anwar remains heavily guarded in hospital where he seems to enjoy the sympathy and support of many Malaysians who have been carrying out daily silent sittings at the hospital where he is usually admitted.
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said to IslamOnline that there was no basis to rumors that Anwar will overstay in Germany or anywhere else besides Malaysia. "There is no basis in that and Anwar will come back to Malaysia if he goes for surgery abroad."
Wan Azizah also said her husband would give guarantees that he would return to jail in Malaysia if allowed an operation overseas.
"His struggle is here and he will come back to jail after the surgery," she said.
Observers told IslamOnline that Mahathir Mohamad's regime is most likely concerned about the inevitable media focus Europe will place on Anwar Ibrahim, thus allowing him to expose his views openly.
Anwar is serving a 15-year jail term, having been found guilty of abuse of power and sodomy. He and his party flatly reject the convictions saying that it is part of a plot by people close to Mahathir to jeopardize his political career.
Anwar Ibrahim made a rocketing ascent to the deputy Prime Minister post in a spell of less than 15 years after he joined Mahathir's party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).
The prime minister later turned on Anwar and accused him of misconduct and incapable of running the country's finances after the 1997 economic downturn in Asia.
Anwar was sacked, jailed and brought to court with a black eye that has remained famous in Malaysia. Pro-Reform supporters call the day of Anwar's arrest by masked gunmen at his house, the "Black September".
Since his sacking as Minister, Anwar has enjoyed incredible popularity among Malay-Muslims, the majority community in Malaysia.
"They said Anwar will be a forgotten politician in a six months time. It is now almost 3 years and reformasi is still alive in Malaysia. They were wrong in thinking they could finish Anwar just like that," Wan Azizah told IslamOnline.
The entire text of IslamOnline's interview with Wan Azizah shall be posted by Tuesday.
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