'The Hare and the Tortoise' in Malott’s petition
Stephen NgPublished: Feb 27, 2015 8:37 AM | Updated: Feb 27, 2015 8:42 AM
It’s not how well one starts, but how well it ends.
The signature campaign on the White House website, started by former US ambassador to Malaysia, John Malott, was to petition President Barack Obama to “make the release of Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim from prison a top priority for US policy toward Malaysia”.
It’s not how well one starts, but how well it ends.
The signature campaign on the White House website, started by former US ambassador to Malaysia, John Malott, was to petition President Barack Obama to “make the release of Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim from prison a top priority for US policy toward Malaysia”.
Time is indeed running out for the petition to garner 100,000 signatures by March 12, but the total number of signatures has only been hovering around 50,000 in the past one week.
A check on the online petition to date has only hit 55,727, which is still short of another 44,273 to reach its goal of 100,000 signatures. This raises the questions whether the supporters of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim have lost steam, or that people are getting sceptical about the White House’s online petition.
Within the past 48 hours, it has only recorded an increase of 1,589, compared to the counter-petition, which has apparently picked up momentum after a slow start.
Currently, it is tailing behind the Release Anwar petition by only some 10,000 signatures. Recording a total of 45,014 signatures, it had demanded that the United States respect the sovereignty of the nation, a dramatic increase of 4,891 signatures in the same period.
PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has just recently posted on Facebook urging Anwar’s supporters to sign the petition. “It takes the smallest effort to show our support. Take Action! Sign the Petition Now!” a poster on Wan Azizah’s Facebook read.
Anwar’s eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah, had earlier told the BBC that all avenues would be explored to release Anwar. The family had submitted an appeal to the Agong for a royal pardon at the eleventh hour, but no signature campaign has been kick started to petition the Agong.
What is important is that the Agong is aware of the circumstances around Anwar’s jailing and that PKR leaders do not wear out their supporters. For this reason, Dr Wan Azizah saw it fit to continue with the White House petition using the existing facilities available, instead of trying to initiate another round of the signature campaign.
It is not obvious how the petition would influence Obama’s external policies, especially with the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), scheduled by the end of this year. However, as one critic pointed out, with both sides having breached the 100,000 signatures bar, Obama would have to give due consideration to both sides, especially the fact that Anwar’s jailing has received wide publicity around the world.
Actions speak louder than words
Whether Obama is successful or not in pressuring the Malaysian government to release Anwar does not matter, but his actions speak louder than words, given that the Americans have oftentimes taken up strong positions against political persecutions in other countries.
The question of a country’s sovereignty no longer arises, especially when there are reasons for the international community to believe that there is a miscarriage of justice to its citizens.
To date, the Americans were among the first to respond to Anwar’s jail sentence with its National Security Council spokesperson, Bernadette Meehan, saying that the United States was “deeply disappointed” with the conviction.
“The decision to prosecute Mr Anwar and the conduct of his trial have raised a number of serious concerns about rule of law and the fairness of the judicial system in Malaysia,” Meehan was quoted saying by Reuters.
The signature campaign on the White House website, started by former US ambassador to Malaysia, John Malott, was to petition President Barack Obama to “make the release of Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim from prison a top priority for US policy toward Malaysia”.
Time is indeed running out for the petition to garner 100,000 signatures by March 12, but the total number of signatures has only been hovering around 50,000 in the past one week.
A check on the online petition to date has only hit 55,727, which is still short of another 44,273 to reach its goal of 100,000 signatures. This raises the questions whether the supporters of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim have lost steam, or that people are getting sceptical about the White House’s online petition.
Within the past 48 hours, it has only recorded an increase of 1,589, compared to the counter-petition, which has apparently picked up momentum after a slow start.
Currently, it is tailing behind the Release Anwar petition by only some 10,000 signatures. Recording a total of 45,014 signatures, it had demanded that the United States respect the sovereignty of the nation, a dramatic increase of 4,891 signatures in the same period.PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has just recently posted on Facebook urging Anwar’s supporters to sign the petition. “It takes the smallest effort to show our support. Take Action! Sign the Petition Now!” a poster on Wan Azizah’s Facebook read.
Anwar’s eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah, had earlier told the BBC that all avenues would be explored to release Anwar. The family had submitted an appeal to the Agong for a royal pardon at the eleventh hour, but no signature campaign has been kick started to petition the Agong.
What is important is that the Agong is aware of the circumstances around Anwar’s jailing and that PKR leaders do not wear out their supporters. For this reason, Dr Wan Azizah saw it fit to continue with the White House petition using the existing facilities available, instead of trying to initiate another round of the signature campaign.
It is not obvious how the petition would influence Obama’s external policies, especially with the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), scheduled by the end of this year. However, as one critic pointed out, with both sides having breached the 100,000 signatures bar, Obama would have to give due consideration to both sides, especially the fact that Anwar’s jailing has received wide publicity around the world.
Actions speak louder than words
Whether Obama is successful or not in pressuring the Malaysian government to release Anwar does not matter, but his actions speak louder than words, given that the Americans have oftentimes taken up strong positions against political persecutions in other countries.
The question of a country’s sovereignty no longer arises, especially when there are reasons for the international community to believe that there is a miscarriage of justice to its citizens.
To date, the Americans were among the first to respond to Anwar’s jail sentence with its National Security Council spokesperson, Bernadette Meehan, saying that the United States was “deeply disappointed” with the conviction.
“The decision to prosecute Mr Anwar and the conduct of his trial have raised a number of serious concerns about rule of law and the fairness of the judicial system in Malaysia,” Meehan was quoted saying by Reuters.
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