KUALA LUMPUR - Thousands gathered at a stadium here Sunday for a mass anti-inflation rally which Malaysian opposition figurehead Anwar Ibrahim was due to address amid deepening political turmoil.Anwar is fighting back new accusations of sodomy -- the same charge that saw him jailed a decade ago.
The marathon event will run until midnight (1700 GMT).
The protest is going ahead at an alternative venue after the original plans were slapped with a police ban, and despite fears authorities may use force to break up the gathering.
“Our aim is not to cause trouble but to get the message to the government that fuel prices must come down and we will not stop our protests until this happens," said organiser Hatta Ramli from the Islamic opposition party PAS.
By noon up to 6,000 people had gathered at the suburban stadium, which was ablaze with red T-shirts, the colour of the protest movement, with many sporting bandanas with the caption "No Price Hike."
There was a festive air, and outside the stadium traders sold everything from drinks to Islamic religious tracts.
"We want prices lowered, we are suffering but the government appears to be doing nothing," said housewife Aminah Rahman, 48, who along with her two young daughters was dressed in red T-shirts and scarves.
Last month's 41 per cent fuel price hike has heaped pressure on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose government is reeling from the March general elections that produced the worst showing in its half-century history.
Anwar has said he is poised to seize power with the help of government defectors, after his opposition alliance claimed one third of parliamentary seats and five states in the elections.
He is now embroiled in a political battle with deputy prime minister Najib Razak -- Abdullah's heir apparent -- trading serious allegations that have deepened Malaysia's political crisis.
A week ago an aide to Anwar filed a police report claiming that the 60-year-old opposition leader had sodomised him, causing Anwar to flee to the Turkish embassy saying he feared for his life.
The claims threatened his stunning political comeback, staged after he was sacked as deputy premier in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges he said were orchestrated by the government.
In the next sensational turn of events, a private investigator then made allegations linking Najib to the 2006 slaying of a Mongolian woman.
A close friend of Najib is on trial for abetting the murder.
At a press conference organised by Anwar, Balasubramaniam Perumal released a sworn statement saying he had given police detailed information about 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu which was never raised during the trial.
However, a day later, he retracted the claims, saying he made them under duress.His nephew on Saturday filed a missing person's report, saying he and his family had disappeared.
Criminal Investigation Department director Bakri Zinin said Malaysian police had enlisted the help of Interpol and authorities in neighbouring countries to help locate the investigator.
"We suspect he is either in hiding or someone is hiding him," he told a press conference Sunday."I give a guarantee of his safety if he comes to meet us, and he is free to bring a lawyer to the meeting."
AFP/vm
Channel NewsAsia
06/07/08
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