Anwar marks third birthday behind bars

Wheelchair-bound Anwar urged his supporters to 'maintain the struggle'

By staff and wires

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Marking his third birthday behind bars, Anwar Ibrahim has urged supporters to keep up the fight for political reform in Malaysia.

"The struggle must continue, must go on, must escalate, even with all the pressure, restrictions and oppression, we have to recruit and maintain and strengthen our resolve," the former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister said on Sunday.

The message was delivered to Anwar's supporters through his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Police in Kuala Lumpur stopped hundreds of people from gathering outside Anwar's prison to celebrate his birthday.

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Anwar turned 54 on Friday, spending his third birthday in jail since he was sacked as deputy premier in 1998 and convicted on sex and corruption charges.

He has always claimed the charges were invented to stop him from exposing corruption in Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government.

Celebration planned

His supporters, who had taken his struggle to the streets since his ouster, had planned to group outside the Sungai Buloh prison on Sunday to mark his birthday.

But police mounted roadblocks and turned away hundreds of cars headed to the prison, located 40 km (25 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur.

The crowd eventually gathered at a town outside the prison and held speeches and cut a cake to honor Anwar. Riot police looked on, water cannon at the ready, in case of trouble.

Witnesses said one person was arrested for apparently disobeying police orders but there was no other incidents.

Prime Minister Mahathir, 75, lost support among the nation's ethnic Malay majority after kicking out Anwar, his one-time anointed successor.

His government has lately shown little tolerance to any protest or political gatherings by the opposition, using police to break up the events.

'Keep up pressure'

Mahathir lost the support of many ethnic Malays when he jailed his former protege Anwar

Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah, who leads the opposition Parti Keadilan, said her husband had urged his supporters to keep up the pressure on Mahathir.

"He told me we can celebrate his birthday, but we should never forget our ultimate aim," she said after visiting Anwar.

Her husband has been in a wheelchair for several months after he resisted government treatment for an injured spine.

Wan Azizah said her usual brief prison visit was increased to 45 minutes on Sunday.

Towards the end of the visit, officials allowed her and their children to sit around Anwar after initially being separated by a glass wall.

She said the family brought him noodles and a cake, which he was allowed to eat, and they sat singing songs after prayers.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.