Anwar Sodomy Verdict to Strain Malaysian Opposition Unity
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Malaysia’s disparate, multi-ethnic opposition coalition faces a fresh challenge to its cohesion with leader Anwar Ibrahim found guilty of sodomy and at risk of being sent to jail for five years.
The former deputy prime minister, 66, had planned to stand as the People’s Justice Party candidate for a vacant parliamentary seat in opposition-controlled Selangor state, until the Court of Appeal on March 7 overturned his 2012 acquittal on a sodomy charge. His wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail nominated today for the special election, to be held March 23, and will face Chew Mei Fun from the ruling coalition’s Malaysian Chinese Association party, the Election Commission said.