Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who used sodomy charges to bring down his expected successor is now facing dissension in his own house. Mahathir's daughter has spoken up in support of gays and lesbians in reaction to the news that one of her father's most active allies is in the process of starting the nation's first group to "wipe out" homosexuality.

Meanwhile thousands of Malaysians continue street demonstrations demanding Mahathir's resignation and the reinstatement of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim -- demonstrations which police continue to break up and which Mahathir denounces as having the potential to allow control of the country to be given over to the International Monetary Fund.

Blaming homosexuality for contributing to "the social ills in the country," Ibrahim promised the group would investigate homosexual activity to help the government act to eradicate it. Although sodomy convictions can already be punished with up to 20 years' imprisonment and caning, PASRAH seeks still stronger penalties and the closure of gay gathering places. Tamrin, calling homosexuality "absolutely despicable," took aim at another discredited political force, the Al-Arqam Islamic sect which has been banned in Malaysia, claiming that despite their reputation for piety they commonly engaged in homosexual acts. Ibrahim also denounced the younger generation's acceptance of homosexuality as "normal," saying, "This is like drug abuse in the 1960's, which was not considered dangerous until it became a big menace to society."

Marina was not the only one to speak up in reaction to PASRAH's formation. Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang called its "sudden" formation "obviously politically-motivated." A spokesperson for the human rights group Suaram, Elizabeth Wong, described PASRAH as "a misguided form of political support for the prime minister in the midst of his current political crisis. When a country is facing a crisis, there is often a tendency to scapegoat groups of people to deflect society from the real issues." She added that PASRAH would "incite hatred, discrimination and condemnation of a minority group in Malaysia in order to garner political support for the prime minister."

Anwar himself has been incarcerated since September 20, first arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and then charged with five counts of sodomy and five of corruption. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Although he is scheduled for an October 25 bail hearing for his initial arrest, that will have no bearing on his current incarceration, and his attorneys believe it could be another month before the Court of Appeals decides if it will allow him bail on the criminal charges. However, the upcoming hearing could at least clarify the grounds for the ISA arrest. When Anwar first appeared in court after 10 days in a high-security prison, he was visibly battered in what he claimed was police brutality, drawing widespread international concern; Mahathir, who at first suggested Anwar had intentionally injured himself to gain sympathy, has ordered an investigation.

Mahathir's latest message to the demonstrators is that if they don't wait for elections to end his government, they will open the door for foreigners to take over local corporations, and for the International Monetary Fund to take over the economy. It will be at least several months before Mahathir calls for elections. Foreign participation in the Malaysian economy was definitely one area of disagreement between Anwar, who served as Minister of Finance, and Mahathir, who took over the finance role after ousting Anwar and immediately ordered strict currency controls which at least in the short run have stabilized the Malaysian currency, the ringgit. The long-stable economy had slid into recession in the months before Anwar's ouster, when tensions built between the two men who had worked closely together for years. Anwar's and demonstrators' criticisms against Mahathir have included corruption and cronyism, with large government-funded projects being shunted towards the corporations of the Prime Minister's family and friends. Mahathir this week countered that he has realized that "crony capitalism" is a Western term used to vilify Asian countries which insist on maintaining national control of their economies instead of giving a free hand to Western corporations.

Mahathir also had a few remarks hitting closer to the Anwar situation. On the one hand, he accused foreign media of painting a picture which would make it impossible for Malaysia to appear to have an independent judiciary unless Anwar was found innocent, thereby intimidating judges and eliminating justice. On the other, he claimed that the demonstrators were not only trying to incite police brutality to gain foreign attention, but "They are also trying to force the police to arrest [Anwar's wife] Datin Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her daughter so that the world will see Malaysia as an oppressive country."