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Although Anwar Ibrahim is no more the No. One issue in the country, its displacement after Sept 11 by concerns about terrorism and recently by the Iraq war and SARS cannot make right what is palpably wrong or acceptable what is rank injustice - why Malaysians must continue to mobilize for freedom for Anwar and the reformasi activists Speech -  "Free Anwar" Ceramah Perdana organised by Pemuda Keadilan by Lim Kit Siang (Gombak,  Saturday): April 14 is a day of infamy for Malaysia for it stood for injustice and oppression - the day Anwar Ibrahim was wrongly and unfairly sentenced to long jail terms and for which the reformasi activists, Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, Tian Chua, Saari Sungib, Lokman Noor Adam, Dr Badrul Amin and Hishamuddin Rais were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for their protests. Although the DAP is no more in the Barisan Alternative, we are here tonight to give our continued 100 per cent support for the "Free Anwar" and "Free reformasi activists" campaigns, as these were among the issues of justice, freedom, democracy and good governance for which the DAP came together with other opposition parties and NGOs on a common programme of reform for Malaysia more than four years ago. In the past 10 days, there were two reports on human rights in Malaysia - the Suhakam Annual Report 2002 tabled in Parliament on 10th April and the United States Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Malaysia 2002 released on 31st March. Although I had no time to study the Suhakam Report 2002, as I have just received it, I have been able to establish that there was no single reference to the incarceration of Anwar Ibrahim by Suhakam in contrast to the US Human Rights Report on Malaysia 2002, which continued to maintain that Anwar Ibrahim and the reformasi activisits are "political prisoners". The US Report on Human Rights Practices in Malaysia 2002 said: "The cases against former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and some of his associates…raised serious questions about judicial independence and impartiality ". It cited many legal experts, both domestic and international, that Anwar Ibrahim "is a political prisoner because he was charged, tried, and convicted in a legal process that was politically motivated and patently unfair". The report referred to "several questionable rulings" made by the trial judge at Anwar's first trial on charges of corruption "that greatly limited Anwar's ability to defend himself". In failing to make any reference to Anwar's incarceration, which is the most high-profile case of human rights violations in the country, Suhakam failed to come out with a fully comprehensive and authoritative report on the state of human rights in Malaysia last year. We, who are committed to the restoration of freedom for Anwar and the reformasi activists, must be prepared to face ups and downs, which is part of any struggle for truth, justice and freedom. We must recognize that the global scenario and national political landscape have changed considerably in the past two-and-a-half years, and one result is that Anwar Ibrahim is no more the No. One issue which dominated the consciousness of Malaysians in the two years from September 1998 - and that it has since been overtaken by other issues which probably occupy a higher place in the people's order of priorities of concern, such as the issues of terrorism after the Sept. 11 and Bali events and recently the Iraq War and the new deadly SARS virus outbreak. Although Anwar Ibrahim is no more the No. One issue in the country, its displacement after Sept 11 by concerns about terrorism and recently by the Iraq war and SARS cannot make right what is palpably wrong or acceptable what is rank injustice - and this is why Malaysians must continue to mobilize for freedom for Anwar and the reformasi activists. These altered scenarios should be recognized and taken into account so that they are fully and properly factored into the strategy to mobilize Malaysians to continue to give full support to the campaign to free Anwar and the reformasi activists, and to place the important issues of human rights and democratic reforms as core national concerns and challenges. (12/4/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman