The family and supporters of former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim are urging that his surgery be done overseas.

They said they do not trust the healthcare being provided to Anwar, especially since Anwar would be sedated under general anesthesia if the surgery is to take place.

“We don’t trust the system, because the system can deny Seri Anwar basic treatment like physiotherapy.

“We don't trust the system to do an operation where Anwar would be under general anaesthesia, and so on.

“That’s why we say if there is going to be major surgery done, then we demand that it is to be done overseas,” said Anwar’s lawyer R Sivarasa at a press conference at the jailed leader's residence in Kuala Lumpur today.

However, he stressed that more pressing need now is for Anwar to undergo intensive and regular physiotherapy.

Anwar’s wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the physiotherapy would help yield improved results for the surgery.

Anwar, who has been incarcerated since February under charges of sodomy, is nursing a chronic pain on his right shoulder.

His family has long pressed for Anwar to be allowed to undergo physiotherapy three times a week prior to surgery, and for the Home Ministry to guarantee that he would also be allowed to undergo post-operative physiotherapy afterwards.

They had also pressed for overseas medical treatment for Anwar’s back pain during his previous prison term from 1999 to 2004, but to no avail.

Precedent overseas

Otai Reformasi member Ronnie Liu pointed out that there is precedent overseas where prisoners are allowed to undergo treatment abroad.

As an example, he claimed that former Taiwanese president Chen Shui Bian and his wife Wu Shu Chen were allowed to seek medical treatment abroad, despite serving a prison sentence for corruption charges since 2009.

Previous media reports dated January say that Chen is released on medical parole, which would be reviewed regularly and extended unless his condition improves. His wife Wu had been on medical parole since 2011.

Meanwhile, Anwar’s eldest daughter and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah stressed that her father should be a free man in the first place, and the statement by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention supports this.

The working group had said last week that Anwar’s detention is unnecessary and he should be released immediately.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office insisted that Anwar was convicted of a crime and his case was not political, and had nothing to do with the government.

At the press conference today, Wan Azizah also launched a roadshow organised by a group of Anwar’s supporters to pressure for Anwar’s release.

The roadshow’s coordinator Adrian Lim said the tour would feature a mock prison cell, and would start with the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor area later today until the end of the week, followed by other parts of Malaysia.

He also urged members of the public to support the campaign by signing the ‘Free Anwar’ petition.

“Anwar Ibrahim has not only been wrongly imprisoned, he has also been denied appropriate medical attention [...]

“This home behind us signifies Anwar’s freedom; the (mock) prison signifies how his freedom was arbitrarily taken away from him,” he said at the launch at Anwar’s residence.

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