The Straits Times Blogs - Hazlin Hassan

All agog over nothing

2008-12-18T08:20:00Z

Hazlin Hassan looks at the buzz over an on-screen lesbian kiss in M'sia.

In Kuala Lumpur

A STORY about what would have been Malaysia's first on-screen lesbian kiss got many Malaysians excited today.

The story, in the New Straits Times daily, was entitled "Lesbian kiss sets tongues wagging" and was the paper's most read story online.

The movie, Histeria, is about a group of schoolgirls who are forced to spend a weekend at a haunted hostel block.

The NST quoted one of the so-called lesbian actresses as saying that their "lips touched briefly" and that they had to do two takes to get the shot right.

Perhaps it is only natural that such an unusual and rare sight would have sparked much interest among readers, particularly in mainly-Muslim and conservative Malaysia.

But what made it all the more ironic is that Malaysia's highest Islamic body here recently banned tomboyish behaviour among Muslim females, in an effort to combat lesbianism. Apparently it's becoming a common trend among girls.

In any case it is unlikely that censorship authorities would have allowed such a thing as a lesbian kiss to be screened in Histeria, which opens today at major cinemas nationwide.

They even censor US singer Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" song on the radio, bleeping out the word "girl," so as to avoid putting ideas into the impressionable minds of young girls here.

But the director and producer of the Histeria movie deny that there are any lesbian kissing scenes in the movie.

Gayathri Su-Lynn Pillai, of Tayangan Unggul which produces the movie, told The Straits Times that one of the actresses, who is interested in one of her female friends, leans to that friend and tries to come close for a kiss. But the other girl turns her face away. So there is no kiss.

Director James Lee told The Straits Times that the movie is not even about lesbians per se.

"It is a homage to B-grade horror flicks like Friday the 13th."

So perhaps Malaysian audiences should not get too excited about the alleged lesbian kissing scene.

Or just check out the movie in order to be doubly sure.

Take action! Stop the (land)slide!

2008-12-13T06:57:00Z

Hazlin Hassan takes stock of post-disaster efforts a week after.

In Kuala Lumpur

A WEEK has passed since last Saturday's Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, which killed four people and made some 5,000 homeless.

But the dust is yet to settle in this upmarket hilly residential area, some 10km east of Kuala Lumpur.

Rescue workers, including those from the police and military, are still at the disaster scene to help clear the debris, and even carrying out the belongings of residents from huge mattresses to all sorts of other items, even as police are boosting security around the affected area.

But in the aftermath of the disaster also comes the inevitable finger-pointing over who or what caused this latest disaster in an area notoriously prone to landslides.

Residents have said that they plan sue the local authorities. They say that there were warning signs but their complaints fell on deaf ears and went unheeded.

The government is trying to make amends and said it may consider paying compensation for the victims.
On the day the disaster struck, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said there should be no more hillside projects and that existing ones should be reviewed.

But survivors of past tragedies said they had heard it all before from previous leaders. But everything would be forgotten in a few months.

Politics had then quickly taken over the tragedy.

The frontpage headline of a major mainstream newspaper here on Tuesday blared "So Who Takes The Rap?" and placed big photos of former Selangor menteri besar Khir Toyo (from Umno), next to current Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim (from the federal opposition party PKR, which now controls Selangor as part of a coalition).

The politics of the issue has even been pushed into the blogosphere, with photos of concerned politicians from both sides of the political divide seen visiting Ground Zero of the landslide and offering aid to victims.

Such photos, which have been uploaded on popular networking sites like Facebook, show leaders helping to carry out victims or just visiting the sites with worried looks on their faces.

Supporters of the ruling coalition and opposition alike question each other's sincerity or lack of it during the disaster.
There have also been unconfirmed rumours that some rescue workers refused to search for some victims and that some even looted the houses of the victims, drinking their expensive wine and smoking their cigars.

Some residents have even allegedly complained that the surrounding area has been turned into a "carnival-like" atmosphere with rescue workers being feted by hotels and mamak (Indian Muslim) restaurants who have donated plenty of food for the workers and the stranded residents.

But complaints aside, it is clear that the time has come for the authorities to bite the bullet and take real action to prevent further landslide tragedies.

Observers say there have been too many such tragedies in the same area already, even after the first, and the worst, one of the infamous Highland Towers collapse which killed 48 people in 1993.

But will enough action be taken?

And when will the demand for hillslope homes, with views-to-literally-die-for, stop?

Otherwise, it seems almost likely that deadly landslides will keep on happening, especially in Bukit Antarabangsa and the surrounding belt.

It has been 15 years since the Highland Towers tragedy.

Group wants to show naked anger

2008-11-18T04:25:00Z

Hazlin Hassan bares all on Malaysia's possible first naked protest.

A group of protesters in Malaysia wants to bare their anger. Literally.

Naked protests are not unusual in countries like Spain, Britain and the United States but one does not expect the concept to suddenly crop up in mainly Muslim Malaysia.

A previously-unknown group said it was so outraged by a proposal by the Selangor state government to double rental rates under a housing scheme for the poor that it planned to stage a butt-naked protest in front of the Menteri Besar's office.

The Gerakan Reformis Rakyat Malaysia, or Malaysian People's Reformist Movement, said the nude protest is their "last resort".

They are asking for talks with Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim but it is unclear if they have received any response.

Observers noted that if the nude protest really did take place, it would be a first.

"We've seen many demonstrations before and after the 12th general elections, including the Penguin Walk, the Yellow March, Hindraf and the on-going anti-ISA vigils. None of them has done it naked," prominent blogger Ahiruddin Atan, or rockybru, wrote on his blog.

Some people are already cracking jokes, saying that it would be the first protest that police would not have to bother with strip searches.

Although the prospect remains highly unlikely, and perhaps even surreal, the police are not taking any chances and have warned that they will take firm action against anyone taking part in such an assembly.

Politicians from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, which rules Selangor, have condemned the very idea of a nude protest as un-Islamic and immature. The state Islamic enforcement department said it would not hesitate to issue RM1,000 fines to anyone protesting naked in public.

The Spiritual Leader of opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia, Nik Aziz Nik Mat described such a demonstration as tilting towards someone with no culture or perhaps for "monkeys".

"Even a cow, although it is totally naked, has a tail created by God so that its private parts would be covered, what more humans who are given brains," he was quoted as saying on Monday by Bernama news agency.

In Malaysia, gatherings of more than four people are actually illegal under the country's laws, yet the country is no stranger to anti-government protests.

Since late last year especially, there have been a slew of protests from the big Hindraf demonstration near the Petronas Twin Towers last November to smaller-scale ones to protest inner-city vehicle tolls.

The Abolish the ISA Movement (GMI) have been organising regular candlelight vigils to protest the harsh Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial.

Protests in Malaysia tend to be peaceful and without any untoward incident, but sometimes the police have taken action by arresting those taking part or spraying water cannons at them. Once in a while, teargas is brought out.

If Gerakan Reformis does indeed go ahead and bare more than their souls, they will have to bear in mind that there will be nothing to protect their skins from chemically-laced water if the riot police take aim with their water cannons.

Is Malaysia overspending?

2008-11-06T07:27:00Z

Hazlin Hassan looks at how the recent fiscal package impacts the books.

In Kuala Lumpur

MORE money for consumer pockets, longer operating hours for hypermarkets, and no need for government approval anymore for foreigners to buy pricier commercial properties.

These are among steps being taken by the Malaysian government to boost spending, woo foreign investment and revive the flagging economy.

They form part of a RM7 billion stimulus package announced by Deputy Premier Najib Razak on Tuesday.

Economists say they might just help the financial situation at a time when Malaysia is faced with the prospect of slower growth as some countries face recession.

The country is also bracing for lower revenues due to plummeting prices of crude oil and palm oil - its biggest money earners - in the global market.

If all contributors opt to cut their Employees Provident Fund payments, which will be allowed from January, the government hopes to see RM4.8 billion injected into the economy a year, as part of increased consumer spending.

By lowering payments to EPF - similar to Singapore’s retirement fund CPF - people will have more money in their pockets.

Add to that the extension of hypermarket operating hours, and the government is crossing its fingers that the increased shopping will help prop up the economy.

AmInvestment Bank economist Manokaran Mottain said the cut in EPF contributions will raise private consumption activities and provide a multiplier effect towards domestic growth.

The move to allow foreigners to buy commercial real estate worth RM500,000 and above, WITHOUT Foreign Investment Committee approval has been welcomed by industry insiders as a boon.

This reduces the red-tape because a buyer could now just deal with the seller, instead of also having to apply to the government for permission to buy the property.

“Property investment is still one of the most viable options, considering the high yields in the long term,” said Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia president Ng Seing Liong.

The RM7 billion package is nearly double the RM4.3 billion that the government poured into the economy in September 2001, to offset the economic fallout following the terrorist attacks in the United States.

In other words, the money being poured into the Malaysian economy over the next few months to build schools, new roads, low-cost housing is much more than the economic efforts to fight the post-911 slump.

But the current stimulus package will be lower than the amount injected to counter the downturn caused by the SARS outbreak in 2003, at RM7.3 billion.

At that time, it was felt that the government had to inject more money because the economy was still wobbly from the 911 effects.

Wan Suhaimi Saidi, economist with Kenanga Investment Bank, told The Straits Times that the RM7 billion this time around should be enough to tide over economic woes.

This is because Malaysia’s economy is somewhat insulated and less exposed to the global turmoil compared to other economies.

But economists also raised concerns over the widening deficit for 2009.

Due to the extra spending needed to prop up the economy, the government deficit is being raised to 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product, from 3.6 per cent previously.

Malaysia has registered a budget deficit every year since 1998.

In other words, the government has been spending more that what it was earning in the last 10 years!

Mr Najib said that the higher decifit of 4.8 per cent is due to the drop in government revenues, from RM176.22 billion to to RM168.7 billion.

Malaysia’s government depends on some 46 per cent of its revenues from petroleum taxes.

The sharp drop in global crude oil prices is thus worrying, economists say. In recent years, the government depends on oil and gas dug up and sold by national oil company Petronas to funds its spending.

Mr Dzulkefly Ahmad, a lawmaker for the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia pointed out that the drop in crude oil prices could cause an RM18 billion shortfall in projected revenue.

Due to lower prices, the government could see an estimated loss to the tune of RM18 billion to RM25 billion instead of the RM8 billion predicted by Mr Najib, he claimed.

“The numbers do not jive, whichever way you look at them,” he was quoted as saying by the news website Malaysiakini.

Forcing food prices down

2008-10-16T14:33:00Z

Hazlin Hassan wonders if the consumers alone can bring prices down.

In Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S government on Wednesday slashed the pump price of fuel by 6 per cent as part of efforts to ease inflation following the recent fall in global crude oil prices.

It was the biggest of three price cuts this year after the government raised fuel prices by a shocking 41 per cent just four months ago, in June, to stem the spiralling cost of fuel subsidies.

The decision to hike fuel prices was extremely unpopular, and it also resulted in higher electricity bills, transportation and food costs.

Inflation jumped to a 27-year high of 8.5 per cent in August, driven by the rising cost of food and fuel.
But since then, global crude oil prices have fallen sharply. And the government has adjusted pump prices accordingly.

Now comes the sad and bad news.

The moves to cut pump prices, which no doubt bring some cheer to the public, do not seem to be followed by similar cuts in the prices of goods and services by Malaysian businesses yet.

Quite a few Malaysians complain that their roti canai (roti prata in Singapore), teh tarik (milk tea) and daily staples are still exorbitantly high even after the cuts in pump prices.

Source: AFP

Based on anecdotal evidence, a bowl of claypot chicken rice at a KL office canteen for example, used to cost RM4.50 around a year ago. It now costs closer to RM6. Prices of such items appear to remain stubbornly higher at the moment despite the drop in fuel prices.

Even Tenaga Nasional, the state power distributor, has been urged to lower electricity charges in tandem with the drop in fuel prices.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi acknowledged the gap on Wednesday.

"This is not good. The prices of goods should come down accordingly," he said.

"The prices of goods went up when times were bad. But now that oil prices have been coming down, shopkeepers should be more responsible and reduce prices."

Instead of taking businesses to task or warning them of stern action, he placed the responsibility of lowering prices on the shoulders of consumers.

"The power of consumers is very strong. If they don't buy at high prices, then shopkeepers will not be able to sell their goods. But because people are still buying the goods even though they are expensive, shopkeepers will not bring down prices," he said.

This is easier said than done for ordinary Malaysians busy trying to make a living, with less money to spend and even less time to compare prices.

Not everyone has the time to go to several different supermarkets to figure out which one sells their regular brand of rice, tea or milk at the lowest price.

Some suggest that perhaps the government could help out by providing price comparisons by neighbourhoods.

At least one newspaper is already doing this, comparing the prices of fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, poultry and fish at various wet markets.

But perhaps there should be an official version from the government, and on a regular basis.

I am quite sure that the government will get lots of praise if it forms teams (officials or housewife volunteers?) to indicate weekly at least the prices of daily staples being sold at big supermarkets and wet markets, starting with the major cities.

Publish these in newspaper and websites.

This will force the supermarkets and shopkeepers to reduce prices because they now know that people can do actual comparison and drive to another place nearby.

That is surely better than yet another official asking consumers to act in concert to bring down food prices.

Pay attention, Malaysia

2008-10-10T07:17:00Z

Hazlin Hassan takes stock of the Malaysian economy.

In Kuala Lumpur

WHILE the world is reeling from what is possibly the worst global economic crisis since The Great Depression, most Malaysians have been too preoccupied with their own political drama to pay much attention to the financial meltdown.

Everyone is busy talking about politics. The opposition taking over, the opposition not taking over; the PM stepping down, the PM not stepping down; who will become the new PM's deputy, who will not; is Anwar guilty of sodomy, is he innocent.

Based on the newspaper headlines, many seem to think that it only affects the US, Europe, and other countries in the region. Malaysians tend to think that, based on strong commodities and crude oil prices that Petronas is selling, they are somehow insulated from what is happening elsewhere.

Well, if they have been reading reports closely, they would see that palm oil and crude oil prices have plunged also.

Local newspapers have not been reporting the meltdown on a big scale. The coverage is still mainly limited to the business or foreign sections, and tends to present the "official" side of things.

In today's publication of The Star, the biggest English daily, a story on local banks focused on the positives.

The lead story of the business section of The Star said that banks were turning cautious but have not put the brakes on lending to businesses.

It also stressed that the country's high savings rate and healthy foreign reserves would enable local banks to weather the global credit squeeze.

As a result, perhaps not many Malaysians are even aware of the spreading fear in global markets.

This sort of thinking is perhaps further boosted by the country's leaders who kept insisting that Malaysia's economic fundamentals are strong, rather than preparing the ground for what is to come -- slower economic growth, and perhaps job losses.

Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcob was quoted in today's papers as saying that Malaysia is unlikely to enter into a recession. He did admit however that "if the crisis creates a recession in the US and Europe, all countries will be affected".

Mass-selling Malay-language Utusan Malaysia played up Nor Mohamed's comments and made it their lead story for the business pages, with the headline saying "Malaysia confident will not fall into recession".

Quoting the central bank, the government has said that both direct and indirect exposure of Malaysian financial institutions in terms of holding of securities linked to the US sub-prime mortgages and lending to entities associated with them, accounted for only 0.3 per cent of the banking system's capital base.

Further supporting this argument is the fact that the Malaysian bourse also has not plunged to the depths seen by neighbouring Indonesia, which was forced to close for two days this week after huge falls.

But observers cautioned that Malaysians must pay careful attention to events happening elsewhere before they end up being taken by surprise.

Some say this time, if the recession lands on Malaysian shores, it might well be worse than the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis.

First to go could be Malaysian exports, 20 per cent of which go to the US. A drop in exports could cause major job losses. This would then affect consumer spending and curtail growth.

We are already seeing the prices of commodities fall, particularly fuel and palm oil, two commodities which Malaysia depends on heavily for its earnings. This could result in a vicious bite soon enough unless prices recover.

A big chunk of the Malaysian government annual revenue, about 46 per cent, comes from the petroleum funds. So falling oil prices could mean the government might have to scrimp on building infrastructure and rural projects, like schools and drainage.

Also, many palm oil growers are rural Malays in the government-backed Felda estates. During the Asian financial crisis, the sentiment against the government in the rural areas was negative because many growers found it tough to make ends meet.

And job losses jumped as electronics factories closed or pared operations.

All these mean that, like it or not, whether they pay attention to it or not, the global meltdown will soon enough knock on the doors of many Malaysians.

Turned to the written word

2008-10-06T13:18:00Z

Hazlin Hassan finds out that jailed blogger Raja Petra has books to turn to.

In Kuala Lumpur

ANTI-GOVERNMENT blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin went on trial on Monday, on sedition charges over an article he allegedly posted on his popular Malaysia Today website.

Raja Petra, 58, who is already detained without trial under the Internal Security Act for allegedly attacking Islam in a more recent posting, was charged with sedition in May this year after he allegedly implied that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was involved in the murder of a Mongolian interpreter in an article published in April entitled "Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell."

Raja Petra, or better known as RPK, arrived in court a good half-hour before proceedings started at 9am.

I almost did not recognise him; he looked a little frail and tired-looking, and he looked as if he lost some weight, not to mention the fact that he was also sporting a beard now, after about three weeks of detention under the ISA.

Dressed in jeans and flip-flops, he pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him.

Dozens of his supporters turned up outside the court, wearing red and black T-shirts with slogans such as "I'm with RPK" and "Free RPK".

Also seen were some opposition leaders, led by Democratic Action Party stalwart Lim Kit Siang.

Several supporters walked out during the proceedings, however, when it became a little too draggy and technical.

The first witness, an IT expert, was asked to explain details such as websites, URLs, domain names, blogs, wikipedia, and how they work. This technical aspect took up the entire day. Even Judge Rozina Ayob expressed reservations over whether the trial could end by Friday, as prosecutors had hoped.

While the prosecution took its time to establish a prima facie case against the blogger, the defence immediately pointed out a possible hole in their case.

Defence lawyer J. Chandra told the court that a computer forensics report conducted by the police on a computer seized from RPK showed there was no activity to access the Malaysia Today website on April 25, the date he allegedly posted the seditious article on that same website. Government prosecutors will have to convince the judge that they have a case against him. Otherwise she has the option of acquitting him.

But if he is convicted of sedition, he faces up to three years imprisonment. Government prosecutors say the hearing will continue at least until Friday and the court will then decide whether to call for the defence.

In any case, he is already sentenced to two years at the Kamunting detention centre for ISA detainees.

RPK told me that he spends his time reading books whilst currently undergoing three months solitary confinement there.

Since his arrest on Sept 12, he has read nine books, including one written by former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim, who quit his post recently over the use of the ISA against RPK, an opposition lawmaker and a journalist last month.

RPK's wife Marina Lee Abdullah replenished his supply today with two more books - "Slovo The Unfinished Autobiography of ANC Leader Joe Slovo" about one of the key figures of anti-apartheid, as well as a copy of the Malaysian Constitution.

The copy for him to study and think up ways to change it when the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition takes over, he quipped.

"I dream of the day the government will be brought down and we abolish all draconian laws," he said.

For someone who has to live in a tiny cell that measures roughly three feet by three feet, he was rather cheerful and cracked jokes with his family and friends in court.

"If (opposition leader) Anwar Ibrahim doesn't form the government and I stay in (under ISA) for (the full sentence of) two years, I'll come back to haunt him. So he better make sure," he said when asked by reporters if the opposition would take over soon as it has threatened to.

RPK, who celebrated his birthday behind bars on 27 Sept, also declined to reveal what he was eating whilst in detention when pressed by reporters and insisted he was eating good food such as lamb chops, perhaps in reaction to controversial comments made by opposition MP Teresa Kok that she was fed food that was similar to dog food during her brief detention.

Before he was taken away after the proceedings, his wife and daughters tearfully hugged him in the courtroom, prompting supporters to clap as he left.

When Abdullah met Anwar

2008-08-29T11:28:00Z

Hazlin Hassan describes their first face-to-face meeting in Parliament.

In Kuala Lumpur

PRIME Minister Abdullah Badawi may have stayed away from Parliament during Anwar Ibrahim's swearing-in ceremony yesterday, but he had to face the opposition leader at today's Budget session.

It appeared as though the PM was finding it difficult to look Mr Anwar straight in the eye after the latter's massive win in Tuesday's by-election, but all he really had to do was to read out his prepared speech.

Mr Badawi did so with steady calm - he buried his head in the speech as he read it out, barely looking up except to sip water.

PM Abdullah delivers his Budget speech.
Source: AP

Indeed Mr Abdullah and his deputy Najib Razak may very well be avoiding Mr Anwar. The two did not appear to have made contact with the 61-year-old opposition leader in Parliament today.

But, Mr Abdullah cannot ignore the man for much longer, especially since Mr Anwar will be seated right across from him as head of the opposition in Parliament.

Having avoided making any official statements regarding Mr Anwar's return to Parliament, the silence has caused some to say the PM may be evading the issue altogether.

But today his speech did refer to "certain parties (trying) to destabilise the country by attempting to seize power by illegitimate means" - an oblique reference to Mr Anwar's threat of toppling the government by September 16.

"I will not let that happen", the PM stressed, again looking directly at his papers.

The speech, shorter than those in previous years, invited comments from Nasharuddin Mat Isa, MP for Parti Islam SeMalaysia, a partner of Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat in the opposition pact. He joked that it seemed like the PM wanted to get his speech over and done with as quickly as possible.

Unaffected by all this, Mr Anwar made waves again today, on his second day in Parliament.

With hordes of pressmen following him as he left the hall after PM's speech, it proved practically impossible to get near the man, as cameramen and reporters jostled cheek-by-jowl to get cameras and tape recorders within 5 metres of the man. Any closer and one risked being trampled upon.

Mr Anwar, in his usual panache, criticised the Budget speech saying it did not contain any new ideas or policies to attract foreign direct investments and jumpstart the sluggish economy.

He also had the last word for the day on Mr Abdullah's veiled attack: "He sounded like a dictator."

The huddle around Anwar.
Source: AP

No telecast of Anwar's swearing-in

2008-08-28T10:26:00Z

Hazlin Hassan records the negative vibes as Anwar Ibrahim is sworn in.

In Kuala Lumpur

UMNO leaders were in a dour mood as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim arrived in Parliament for his swearing-in ceremony.

Malaysia's former deputy premier was wearing a black baju melayu and songkok (Malay headgear) and accompanied by his wife, eye-doctor Wan Azizah Ismail, who kept the seat for him in Parliament while he was in prison.

She was dressed in the sky-blue colour of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) - the opposition leader’s party. Their two daughters, Nurul Izzah, who is a Parliamentarian and Nurul Nuha, also turned up in the colours of PKR.

Hordes of reporters followed the former deputy premier everywhere, even if he made a wrong turn.

The huge turnout of reporters reflected the continuing interest in the opposition leader’s moves.

Source: REUTERS

Yet the swearing-in was not shown on television.

Controversy ensued, since the first half of the Parliament session is always telecast live.

The Minister-in-charge of Parliamentary affairs Nazri Abdul Aziz defended this by maintaining that only the question and answer session is shown live on TV, not the rest.

Not everyone believed him.

The mainstream media, not always known to be objective, too has downplayed his landslide win in yesterday's by-election by a margin of over 15,000 votes, as an expected win in his stronghold.

The swearing-in was watched by some of the Umno leaders but Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak were notably absent.

Immediately after the swearing-in, there was a spirited exchange between one-time opposition leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Minister in the PM's Department Nazri Aziz, who is also an Umno MP.

Mr Lim declared to Parliament that the Permatang Pauh by-election was "a second political tsunami. The government is a Titanic that will sink."

Datuk Seri Nazri retorted back that the tsunami had hit Mr Lim also and pushed him down a few notches in the political ladder.

He was refering to the time when Mr Lim was the leader of the opposition. With the DAP now a member of the coalition led by the PKR, the position is now held by Mr Anwar.

At a press conference after the swearing-in ceremony, Mr Anwar said he remains firm about his plan to take over the central government on September 16.

But he did not go into details.

BN leaders pooh-poohed his remarks.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters that Mr Anwar was "not a threat."

"It's a political game. A lot of psy-war... Good luck to him."

Anwar at court

2008-08-07T10:59:00Z

Hazlin Hassan describes the scene around the courthouse where Anwar was charged this morning.

Reme Ahmad in Singapore talks to
Hazlin Hassan in KL

RA: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was charged in court with sodomy this morning in Kuala Lumpur. What was the scene around the courthouse like today?

HH: Roadblocks at major roads leading into the capital caused a massive gridlock this morning. Dozens of riot police, officers and traffic cops stood guard around the sprawling court complex in case his supporters started any protests.

There were about 100 supporters swarming around Datuk Seri Anwar as he made his court appearance today. They chanted "Reformasi" or reform, the popular battlecry during his first court trial in 1999 over a similar charge.

RA: What about opposition leaders from the DAP and PAS? Were they there? Did they say anything? This is important since they have to work together in the upcoming Permatang Pauh by-election, right?

HH: Leaders from the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party and Islamist Parti Islam SeMalaysia were all there. DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, PAS vice-president Husam Musa and PAS MP Lo'Lo' Ghazali were in court to show their support.

Anwar's allies in the opposition alliance urged the government to drop the prosecution, which they said would harm the country's standing globally.

DAP's Lim Kit Siang said: "It is totally against Malaysia's interests and international reputation – the country is in the dock, it is not just Anwar on trial."