The Malaysian Parliament's website features an interview with ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, in which he said the country fears that the 'abuses it inflicts on innocent citizens' is being discussed around the world.

A check revealed that the interview was initially published in the March issue of the Inter-Parliamentary Union's (IPU) official publication - ' The World of Parliaments, IPU Quarterly review '.

"The abuse they (the government) inflict on innocent citizens ... this is of course a source of embarrassment, particularly when the authorities claim that they are democratic and that the parliament, the judiciary and the media are fully independent, when this is clearly not the case.

"In Malaysia, for example, we still have the draconian Internal Security Act, under which people can be detained without trial indefinitely," said Anwar in the two page interview, conducted when the politician and his wife met with the IPU committee on human rights in Geneva in February.

The article also quoted him as expressing his gratitude to the IPU for supporting him during his 'dreadful experience' of six years in prison.

Anwar also said that he will continue to be active in politics when asked if he is planning to throw in the towel.

"No. On the contrary this experience has convinced me even more that in politics, with a strong sense of conviction, with moral principles, you can move ahead," he replied.

Attract readers

Commenting on the matter, a Parliament official, who declined to be named, said this was the first time that an IPU article is featured on the website .

"We want to put more features to attract people to read the website," she said.

Since his sacking and conviction in 1998-99, the IPU, which has 130-member parliaments, has rallied strongly behind Anwar. The ex-deputy premier was found guilty on charges of corruption and sodomy.

After serving six years in prison, he was freed last September after the Federal Court allowed his appeal against his sodomy conviction.

However, Malaysian law states that a politician who has served more than a year in jail will be slapped with a five-year suspension from active politics.

At a meeting in Manila on April 8, the IPU governing council unanimously adopted a resolution which among others declared its full support for granting a royal pardon to Anwar to enable him to return to active politics.

However, the Malaysian delegation protested, saying that Anwar must personally apply for the pardon and that the IPU had no powers to intervene.