Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim would rather remain imprisoned in Malaysia than live as a free man overseas, declared his daughter, Nurul Izzah, at a United Nations meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday.

"My father is prepared to stay a prisoner as his exile would be a windfall to the government and also reduce the momentum of the reform movement in Malaysia," said Nurul when addressing the 50th session of the United Nations Commission.

"They claim that my father will grab the opportunity to flee the country and go into exile to avoid serving the rest of his jail sentences," said Nurul.

"They claim that our family is being 'unpatriotic' in seeking treatment for my father overseas. This is a bizarre charge, since Malaysians routinely travel overseas for treatment which is unavailable domestically," said Nurul, referring to statements made by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week.

Victim of conspiracy

The UN Human Rights Commission session is held annually among the 53 member states of the commission. It was originally formed in 1947 to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The current session, which began on March 19, is scheduled to end on April 27. At the end of the session, members of the commission are expected to vote on resolutions censuring countries which have violated human rights.

The present head of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and former deputy prime minister, Musa Hitam, had chaired the session in 1995.

Anwar Ibrahim is serving a 15-year jail term for abuse of power and sodomy. The ex-deputy premier claims he is a political prisoner who is the victim of a conspiracy but the government has dismissed this accusation.

The former deputy prime minister is suffering from an acute back pain due to a slipped disc, which he partly blames on a 1998 assault by the then Inspector-General of police and has been warded at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital since Nov 25.

Dutch specialist Dr Thomas Hoogland who has examined Anwar said that the former deputy prime minister should undergo a surgery by the end of this month, adding that without one, he would be unable to walk well and there would be a slight risk of paralysis in the future.

However, the government insists Anwar undergo surgery at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, with specialists and equipment flown in if necessary.

Women victims

Meanwhile, at the UN conference, Nurul also touched on the "government's oppression against women".

She said the authorities seem to be "determined to punish" the women who are willing to take a public stand against corruption, human rights abuse and for democracy, in whatever way possible.

"Women constitute half of the movement for reforms in Malaysia. They have targeted with arrest and abuse. They suffer just as much when family members, male or female, are detained and tortured," said Nurul.

Nurul also quoted examples of women arrested during reformasi gatherings - which include 17- year-old student Umi Jumainah, who was detained for five days in the police lockup. Norazimah Mohd Nor, a mother of four, who was made to strip while in detention and also threatened with harm to her family.

"Even now, as I speak to you, I am aware of the threat, the possibility that my disclosure of this situation may lead to increased penalties for my father, who is at the mercy of the authorities. We are under intense, unrelenting pressure to cave in and compromise the truth to appease the authorities just to obtain the smallest comfort for my father," said Nurul.