"I Will Not Rejoin Umno", Vows Anwar

Kuala Lumpur 23 December 2005

"I Will Not Rejoin Umno", Vows Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- Former Deputy Prime Minister and former Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has declared that he would not rejoin Umno, the main component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) National Congress here this evening, Anwar said the question of him rejoining Umno had been raised many times but his answer was still negative.

"I have many friends in Umno, especially at the divisional level. They meet me to talk and discuss issues. I have never at any time refused to meetthem. In discussions with them, they have always asked me if I could rejoin Umno and my answer has always been a `no'," said Anwar, who is now advisor to PKR whose president is his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Anwar was convicted of corruption and sodomy in 1998 and served six years in jail before the Court of Appeal in 2004 reversed the conviction and released him. Asked why he would not rejoin Umno, Anwar claimed that "the corrupt practices in Umno made it not possible for me to join Umno now".

He said that though Umno President and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was fighting corruption, other party leaders had yet to endorse this battle. Asked if he would rejoin the party if Umno underwent a change, he said this was unlikely to happen in the near future.

Anwar was sacked from Umno following the allegations of corruption and sodomy against him in 1998. Following his release, Anwar had been working as a lecturing professor at several universities in the United States and as a consultant for investment companies overseas. He said that from January next year, he said he would try to spend some time at home and that from May he would be based in Malaysia "full time".-- BERNAMA