Malaysian opposition leader Anwar suspended from parliament

Dec 16, 2010, 8:09 GMT

Kuala Lumpur - Lawmakers of Malaysia's ruling coalition on Thursday voted to suspend opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and three other opposition politicians from Parliament for six months.

Anwar was accused of making false statements in the lower house by linking Prime Minister Najib Razak's policies to Israel, which does not have diplomatic ties with the Muslim-majority country.

Lawmakers also voted to suspend three of Anwar's top allies - Sivarasa Rasiah and Azmin Ali from the People's Justice Party and veteran politician Karpal Singh from the Democratic Action Party - for contempt.

Opposition lawmakers walked out in protest.

Singh told reporters that they would challenge the suspension in court, but declined to give further details.

The four lawmakers are to be barred from parliamentary debates and votes for six months, but they can continue other political work, such as addressing rallies.

During the March 2008 general elections, Anwar's three-party opposition alliance denied the ruling National Front coalition a two-thirds majority and gained control of five out of 13 states.

However, several defections and Thursday's suspensions have eroded the opposition's strength to less than one-third of the 222-seat lower house.

The National Front could now change election constituencies ahead of the next elections, which analysts say could be called within the next six months although polls are not due until 2013.

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