VZCZCXRO0460
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0765/01 2410943
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 280943Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1550
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2489
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2564
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000765 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR KDEM MY
SUBJECT: ANWAR SWORN IN AT PARLIAMENT 
 
REF: A. KL 759 ANWAR WINS RESOUNDING VICTORY 
     ¶B. KL 753 INDICATORS ALL POINT TO ANWAR VICTORY 
     ¶C. KL 743 GOM PLAYING HARDBALL 
 
Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF W. GARY GRAY, REASON 1.4 
(B AND 
 D). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Anwar Ibrahim, still savoring his landslide 
by-election victory, was sworn into Parliament on August 28 
after being officially confirmed as leader of the Pakatan 
Rakyat (PR) opposition alliance.  His first intervention was 
to question the merits of  the DNA identification bill which 
the ruling coalition planned to pass later that day.  Some 
key Anwar aides seemed to be hedging on their leader,s 
stated pledge to oust the Government by September 16 and 
neutral observers were even more skeptical, but most agreed 
that Anwar is now enjoying a surge of  momentum.   A suddenly 
more assertive mainstream media is portraying  the BN as 
mired in old thinking and old methods, in contrast to the 
more cutting edge tactics effectively employed by the 
opposition in Permatang Pauh.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Parliament was the center of attention on August 28 
as Anwar Ibrahim, followed by a large media entourage, 
entered to be sworn in by Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia at the 
beginning of the session.  The Speaker also formally 
announced that the PR parties had unanimously selected Anwar 
as Opposition Leader in Parliament.  Star newspaper chief 
editor Wong Chun Wai, (recalling a conversation with  PM 
Abdullah a few days before) told Poloffs that PM Abdullah 
himself had overruled underlings who wanted to delay Anwar,s 
entry into Parliament and ordered that the newly-elected MP 
be sworn in as soon as possible.  Anwar, again mobbed by 
reporters upon re-emerging from the chamber, chided the BN 
for spending "billions" in Permatang Pauh but failing to win 
over voters with its negative race-based campaign.  Having 
harshly criticized the media over the past several weeks, 
Anwar told the assembled journalists that he knew "your 
hearts were in the right place even though you have to write 
what your bosses order."  In that regard, state-owned RTM 
(Radio-Television Malaysia), which normally broadcasts the 
first 30 minutes of every Parliament session, began its 
coverage only after Anwar,s swearing in. 
 
¶3. (C) The mainstream media, with the notable exception of 
Malay language publications, has exhibited uncharacteristic 
boldness in the wake of the by-election, with a number of 
articles sharply critical of the BN,s campaign in Permatang 
Pauh and expressing grudging admiration for the opposition 
alliance,s operation.  Star editor Wong told us he had 
resisted pressure to downplay Anwar,s triumph and insisted 
on reporting it in banner headlines.  Such  openings have 
appeared in the past only to be slammed shut, and the GOM 
sent a message on August 27 by ordering all 21 Internet 
Service Providers (ISPs) in the country to  block access to 
Rajah Petra,s controversial  Malaysia Today website 
((www.Malaysia-Today.net).   The site remains accessible, 
however, through an alternate link.  Raja Petra charged that 
the GOM had breached its own commitment not to censor the 
internet during the promotion of Malaysia,s own version of 
Silicon Valley, the Multimedia Super Corridor. 
 
¶4.  (C) While Anwar held court outside, in the chamber 
opposition MPs voiced their objections to the DNA 
identification bill, which Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid 
was pushing to pass by the end of the day.  Anwar himself 
returned to make his first intervention, questioning the 
Government,s motives for trying to rush through the bill, 
widely seen as targeted at Anwar's own ongoing sodomy case 
(Ref C).  Opposition MPs acknowledged to us that they had no 
hope of delaying the legislation and expected it to pass, but 
as noted (Ref A), the bill must pass through the upper house, 
not scheduled to meet until December 1, before becoming law. 
 
¶5.  (C) Anwar,s Political Secretary Sim Tze Min and PKR 
electoral chief Saifuddin Nasution  told Poloffs that the 
opposition plan to achieve a majority in Parliament by 
September 16 remains "on" but others, including PKR Vice 
President Azmin Ali  were more cautious, noting "we,ll see." 
 More detached observers remain highly skeptical of Anwar,s 
ability to meet his self-proclaimed deadline, but do not 
deny, given his present momentum, that the opposition leader 
could eventually prevail.  Saiffudin maintained that  Anwar 
is now clearly winning the electoral game, but what remains 
is winning over the critical institutions, especially the 
police and the military.  He claimed, however, that  compared 
to ten years ago, Anwar and the opposition are in far better 
shape in this regard to having, won over a number supporters 
within the various key state institutions.  He acknowledged 
that the Police Special Branch was especially critical in 
this regard, expressing the hope that SB personnel, better 
than anyone else, knew which way the political winds were 
blowing and would want to emerge on the winning side or at 
least hedge their bets. 
 
¶6.  (C) Our PKR interlocutors continued to exhibit  some 
nervousness about PAS's reliability as a coalition partner. 
While gratified with what they saw as a sterling PAS 
performance in supporting Anwar in Permatang Pauh, they worry 
that elements within PAS, especially its youth wing, will 
continue to issue extreme  pronouncements that alienate other 
coalition partners.  They also concede that any new balance 
of power resulting from MPs crossing over to Anwar,s side 
must include sufficient numbers of Malay/Muslims to avoid 
alienating PAS.   In addition to the fragility of the PR, of 
course the next serious obstacle for Anwar is his upcoming 
sodomy trial.   GOM sources continue to suggest that  they 
have what they see as some sort of convincing  evidence up 
their sleeve.  This presumably would be revealed  upon the 
beginning of the trial, the date of which will be determined 
when the court reconvenes on September 10. 

KEITH