The leader of a group of seven US Congress members who tabled a resolution on the trial of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim today questioned the accuracy of a statement read out by deputy foreign minister Michael Toyad in the Senate yesterday that the congressmen were satisfied with Malaysia's explanation.

Republican congressman Christopher H Smith, who is the chairperson of the Congressional Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, said in a statement published on the [#1]FreeAnwar Campaign website[/#] today that he was deeply concerned by reports quoting the deputy minister.

The national news agency Bernama reported yesterday that Toyad had told the Dewan Negara during question time that the seven members of the US Congress were satisfied with Malaysia's explanation on Anwar's case after the group was briefed on the actual situation by Malaysia's ambassador to the US.

Transparent

The seven representing various committees in the Congress included Neil Abercrombie (Democrat), Dana Rohrabacher (Republican), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican), Edward R Royce (Republican), Tom Lantos (Democrat) and Robert Wexler (Democrat).

They had submitted a resolution called "Expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives with Respect to Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim" to the US House of Representatives on Oct 27, calling on the Malaysian government to either offer Anwar a new trial under fair and transparent procedures or dismiss all charges against him.

The resolution said Anwar's trials for abuse of power and sodomy were marred by serious irregularities.

In his statement today, Smith said that at the request of the Malaysian Embassy to the US, only some co-sponsors of the resolution met with the ambassador about the matter.

"Others, including myself, have not yet been able to arrange mutually convenient times for such discussions," he said.

Health concerns

Smith stressed that the Anwar case still remained extremely troubling.

"In addition to concerns about irregularities during Anwar's trial, the possible political motivations behind the charges levied against him, and a number of other actions of the Malaysian authorities discussed in the resolution, I now have grave concerns about recent reports that Anwar's health is deteriorating rapidly and that he may not be receiving proper medical treatment," he said.

He expressed hope that the Malaysian government will address the human rights concerns aired in the resolution as quickly as possible.

"If not, I will pursue the matter vigorously at the 107th Congress. I believe these concerns are shared not only by my colleagues who were co-sponsors of the resolution, but also by the overwhelming majority of Congress and the American people," he added.

Anwar is currently serving a total of 15 years imprisonment after being convicted of corruption relating to abuse of power, and sodomy.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had reacted angrily to the congress representatives' resolution last month, saying that the seven were "not fit to become congressmen for the most powerful country in the world".