KUALA LUMPUR: MCA expressed regret at the statement by former US Ambassador to Malaysia John Mallot for being impartial in openly declaring his support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Central committee member Datuk Lua Choon Hann said Mallot had breached protocol by launching a petition on the website of the White House urging his government to place the release of Anwar as its main policy for relations between both countries.
"While we recognise that the said petition is a democratic right of Americans and that we, as Malaysians are in a position to halt it, we wish to stress that foreign countries should not interfere in domestic matters or attempt to sway the independence of our judiciary.
Lua
"We also expect the diplomatic corp - be they currently being posted to Malaysia or abroad or have retired - should likewise maintain a neutral stance.
"The five judges of the Federal Court had unanimously found Anwar guilty based on corroborative DNA evidence," Lua said in a statement in response to reactions from foreign governments over the verdict.
The Federal Court on Tuesday upheld the Court of Appeal's conviction and five-year jail term on Anwar for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Lua said the main priority of the United States should be that of overcoming the atrocities committed by the Islamic State (IS), and bringing back the peace once enjoyed in Iraq and Syria.
"We urge all countries and people sympathetic to Anwar’s cause to not be misled by his emotional rhetoric of democratic freedoms.
"It is regrettable that PKR intends to launch a March to Freedom campaign which includes overseas trips to gather solidarity for Anwar and to question the integrity of judiciary.
"Such moves aimed at tarnishing our Malaysia and causing disrepute to our judiciary are unethical and un-Malaysian and could even cause a decrease in foreign direct investments. We would have expected PKR to be loyal to Malaysia and not otherwise," Lua said.
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