Baca dan fahami artikel di bawah, di manakah ayat yang menyatakan bahawa Anwar Ibrahim meminta maaf kepada yahudi di atas tindakannya mengecam kekejaman Regim Zionis.
Flirting with zealotry in Malaysia
Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Malaysia's political opposition, has become known over the past decade as one of the foremost advocates of liberal democracy in Muslim countries. His many friends in Washington include prominent members of the neoconservative movement -- such as Paul Wolfowitz, the former World Bank president and U.S. ambassador to Indonesia -- as well as such Democratic grandees as Al Gore.
Lately, Anwar has been getting attention for something else: strident rhetoric about Israel and alleged "Zionist influence" in Malaysia. He recently joined a
demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur where an Israeli flag was burned. He's made dark insinuations about the "Jewish-controlled" Washington public relations firm Apco Worldwide, which is working for Malaysia's quasi-authoritarian government.
Therein lies a story of the Obama era -- about a beleaguered democrat fighting for political and personal survival with little help from Washington; about the growing global climate of hostility toward Israel; and about the increasing willingness of U.S. friends in places such as Turkey and Malaysia to exploit it.
First, a little about Anwar: While serving as deputy prime minister under Malaysian strongman Mahathir Mohamad in the 1990s, he began pushing for reforms -- only to be arrested, tried and imprisoned on trumped-up charges of homosexual sodomy. Freed after six years, he built a multiethnic democratic opposition movement that shocked the ruling party with its gains in recent elections. It now appears to have a chance at winning the next parliamentary campaign, which would allow Malaysia to join Indonesia and Turkey as full-fledged majority-Muslim democracies.
Not surprisingly,
Anwar is being prosecuted again. Once again the charge is consensual sodomy, which to Malaysia's discredit remains a crime punishable by whipping and a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Anwar, who is 63 and married with children, denies the charge, and the evidence once again is highly suspect. His 25-year-old accuser has confessed to meeting Prime Minister Najib Razak and talking by phone with the national police chief in the days before the alleged sexual encounter.
Nevertheless the trial is not going well. If it ends in another conviction, Anwar's political career and his opposition coalition could be destroyed, and his life could be at risk: His health is not great. Yet the opposition leader is not getting the kind of support from the United States as during his first prosecution, when then-Vice President Gore spoke up for him. Obama said nothing in public about Anwar when he granted Najib a prized bilateral meeting in Washington in April.
After a "senior officials dialogue" between the two governments this month, the State Department conceded that the ongoing trial again had not been raised, "because this issue was recently discussed at length." When it comes to human rights, the Obama administration apparently does not wish to be repetitive.
Anwar meanwhile found his own way to fight back. Hammered for years by government propaganda describing him as an Israeli agent and a Wolfowitz-loving American lackey, he tried to turn the tables, alleging that Apco was manipulating the government to support Israeli and U.S. interests. He also said that Israeli agents had infiltrated Malaysia's security forces and were "directly involved in the running of the government."
Najib describes Israel as "world gangsters." But he quickly turned Anwar's words against him; Apco has been peddling the anti-Israel statements around Washington.
Anwar is like Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he regards as a friend and fellow traveler. Both know better than to indulge in such stuff. Both have recently begun to do it anyway -- after a year in which the Obama administration has frequently displayed irritation with Israel. "If you say we are growing impatient with Israel, that is true," Anwar told me. "If you say I am not too guarded or careful in what I say sometimes, that is also true."
Anwar, who was in Washington for a couple of days last week, spent a lot of time offering explanations to old friends, not to mention House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman
Howard Berman and a Jewish leader or two. He said he regretted using terms such as "Zionist aggression," which are common coin for demagogues like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Why do I need to use it if it causes so much misunderstanding?" he said. "I need to be more careful."
Many of the Malaysian's friends are inclined to give him a break. "What Anwar did was wrong, but considering that he's literally fighting for his life -- physically as well as politically -- against a government that attacks him as being 'a puppet of the Jews,' one should cut him some slack," Wolfowitz told me.
But Anwar's story can also be read as a warning. His transition from pro-American democrat to anti-Israeli zealot is sobering -- and it is on the verge of becoming a trend.
Artikel asal di SINI..
Berikut pula adalah terjemahan bebas MUHAMMAD NOR ABD SAMAD di dalam Detik Daily :
Anwar Ibrahim, pemimpin politik pembangkang Malaysia sejak sedekad yang lalu cukup terkenal sebagai pejuang demokrasi liberal di kalangan negara-negara Islam.
Di antara kawan-kawannya yang ramai di Washington, termasuk ahli pergerakan neokonservatif ternama seperti Paul Wolfowitz, bekas Presiden Bank Dunia dan duta Amerika Syarikat (AS) ke Indonesia dan juga tokoh demokratik ternama Al Gore.
Akhir-akhir ini Anwar menjadi tumpuan atas sesuatu yang lain pula: retorik keras mengenai Israel dan dakwaan "pengaruh Zionis" di Malaysia.
Baru-baru ini beliau menyertai demonstrasi di hadapan Kedutaan AS di Kuala Lumpur di mana bendera Israel dibakar. Beliau mengecam kerajaan Malaysia kerana menggunakan perkhidmatan syarikat perhubungan awam Washington, Apco Worldwide yang "dikuasai Yahudi".
Terdapat satu cerita dalam era Obama - mengenai survival politik dan peribadi seorang ahli demokrat yang bermasalah dengan sedikit bantuan daripada Washington; mengenai peningkatan tekanan masyarakat antarabangsa terhadap Israel; dan mengenai peningkatan kesediaan sahabat-sahabat AS di beberapa tempat seperti Turki dan Malaysia untuk mengeksploitasikannya.
Pertama, sedikit mengenai Anwar: Sewaktu berkhidmat sebagai timbalan perdana menteri di bawah orang kuat Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad dalam 1990-an, beliau mula menekankan soal pembaharuan - tetapi berkesudahan dengan beliau ditangkap, dibicara dan dipenjarakan atas tuduhan yang direka-reka iaitu liwat.
Setelah dibebaskan enam tahun kemudian, beliau menubuhkan pergerakan pembangkang multietnik yang mengejutkan parti pemerintah dengan pencapaian yang diperolehinya dalam pilihan raya umum yang lalu.
Pergerakan itu kini dilihat mempunyai peluang yang besar untuk memenangi kempen parlimen akan datang dan ini mungkin membolehkan Malaysia menyertai Indonesia dan Turki sebagai negara demokrasi majoriti Islam sepenuhnya.
Tidaklah mengejutkan, Anwar didakwa sekali lagi. Sekali lagi atas tuduhan melakukan liwat, yang mengikut undang-undang Malaysia merupakan satu jenayah yang perlu dihukum sebat dan penjara sehingga 20 tahun. Anwar, 63, berkahwin dan mempunyai anak menafikan dakwaan tersebut, dan bukti-bukti yang dikemukakan sekali lagi dicurigai.
Sipenuduh yang berusia 25 tahun mengaku menemui Perdana Menteri Najib Razak dan berbual melalui telefon dengan Ketua Polis Negara beberapa hari sebelum kejadian liwat tersebut didakwa berlaku.
Perbicaraan yang diadakan tidak berjalan dengan baik. Jika ia berakhir dengan Anwar sekali lagi disabitkan bersalah, masa depan politik dan gabungan pembangkangnya mungkin musnah, begitu juga dengan hidupnya: Kesihatannya tidak begitu baik.
Pemimpin pembangkang itu kali ini tidak mendapat sokongan sewajarnya daripada Amerika Syarikat, tidak seperti perbicaraannya yang pertama di mana timbalan presiden AS pada waktu itu, Al Gore bercakap bagi pihaknya. Obama tidak bercakap apa mengenai Anwar di khalayak ramai sewaktu menerima kunjungan Najib di Washington dalam bulan April lalu.
Selepas "dialog pegawai kanan" di antara dua kerajaan itu bulan ini, soal perbicaraan Anwar tidak juga dibangkitkan oleh Jabatan Negara kerana "isu telah pun dibincangkan dengan panjang lebar". Apabila menyentuh soal hak asasi manusia, pentadbiran Obama tidak mahu mengulangi perkara yang sama.
Anwar bagaimanapun menemui jalan untuk bertindak balas. Kalau selama ini beliau dihentam hebat oleh propaganda kerajaan mengaitkannya sebagai ejen Israel dan sahabat Amerika kerana berkawan dengan Wolfowitz, kali ini beliau menyerang dengan mengatakan Apco telah memanipulasi kerajaan untuk menyokong Israel dan kepentingan AS.
Beliau juga berkata ejen Israel telah menyusup masuk dalam pasukan keselamatan dan "terlibat secara langsung" dalam urusan kerajaan. Najib menyifatkan Israel sebagai "gangster dunia". Tetapi beliau cepat memusingkan kata-kata Anwar terhadapnya: Apco berusaha melibatkan diri dalam kenyataan anti-Israel di sekeliling Washington.
Anwar adalah seperti Perdana Menteri Turki Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yang disifatkannya sebagai kawan dan teman sepengembaraan. Kedua-duanya tahu bagaimana untuk melibatkan diri dalam perkara sebegini. Kedua-duanya telah pun memulakannya - setahun selepas pentadbiran Obama melahirkan rasa tidak senangnya terhadap Israel. "Jika anda kata kami sudah hilang sabar terhadap Israel, itu benar," Anwar memberitahu saya. "Jika anda kata saya tidak berhati-hati bila bercakap kadang-kadang, itu juga benar."
Anwar yang berada di Washington buat beberapa hari minggu lalu, menghabiskan banyak masa cuba menjelaskan kepada kawan-kawan lama, termasuk Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Luar Howard Berman dan beberapa orang pemimpin Yahudi.
Beliau berkata beliau kesal menggunakan istilah "pencerobohan Zionis" yang selalu digunakan oleh beberapa pemimpin seperti Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Mengapa saya perlu menggunakannya jika ia mendatangkan salah faham?" katanya. "Saya perlu berhati-hati."
Ramai di kalangan sahabat-sahabatnya di Malaysia bersedia memaafkannya. "Apa yang Anwar lakukan adalah salah, tapi memandangkan beliau sedang berjuang untuk hidupnya - secara fizikal dan politik - menentang kerajaan yang menyerangnya sebagai berkata 'boneka Yahudi', saya kira ia boleh dimaafkan," kata Wolfowitz memberitahu saya. Tetapi cerita Anwar perlu dibaca sebagai amaran. Perubahannya daripada seorang demokrat yang pro-Amerika kepada seorang fanatik anti-Israel merupakan sesuatu yang serius - dan ia kini mula menjadi trend.
