After a roller-coaster ride of takedowns, reinstatements, and counter-petitions, the Obama administration has finally put out an official response to the online petition urging the US government to help free Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim from prison.
In a statement published on WhiteHouse.gov’s We The People petition section, the US government laid out its take on the petition titled “Make the release of Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim from prison a top priority for US policy toward Malaysia”, which exceeded in getting the 100,000 signatures needed to evoke an official response this week.
“The United States is deeply disappointed with Mr. Anwar’s conviction following a government appeal of the original verdict finding him not guilty,” the White House states.
“We have made this clear both through statements and in our interactions with the Government of Malaysia, and we will continue to do so.”
The statement also expressed the Obama administration’s serious concerns over the entire process of prosecuting Anwar, Putrajaya’s decision to appeal his not guilty verdict, and Prime Minister Najib Razak’s move to backtrack from repealing the Sedition Act as he promised and instead reinforcing the unpopular law.
Stressing that the United States and Malaysia have a strong “comprehensive partnership” that safeguards both countries’ interests, the White House statement nevertheless pledged to keep urging the Malaysian government to “apply the rule of law fairly, transparently, and apolitically”.
It ends by reaffirming the Obama administration’s stand on equality for all: “History has shown that countries that uphold the human rights of all their citizens — regardless of their political affiliation, ethnicity, race, religion, or sexual orientation — are ultimately more prosperous and more stable.”
Anwar was jailed on February 10, after his conviction on the charge of sodomisind his forme aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008 was upheld by the Federal Court. Anwar and his supporters insist that the five-year prison sentence is a politically-motivated conspiracy to keep him out of Malaysian politics.
In related news, a counter-petition, titled “Respecting the sovereign nation of Malaysia”, also on the We The People section of WhiteHouse.gov, is currently languishing with 12,643 signatures – after some false 60,000 signatures were removed from it. It has until the end of today to reach the goal of getting 100,000 signatures to evoke a White House response. (Good luck!)
More on CoconutsKL:
Plea to free Anwar removed from White House petitions website
After Anwar petition takedown, US Embassy’s Facebook page hit with plea messages
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Free Anwar petition is back up on WhiteHouse.gov
Nurul Izzah: Why can’t the Prime Minister have a petition program like the White House’s?
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