Whose Trial?
Anwar is in the courtroom, but Mahathir and his political legacy are also in the dock. The Prime Minister faces the toughest battle of his life
By ANTHONY SPAETH

Anwar Ibrahim sits in an old-fashioned, wooden-doweled dock in the Kuala Lumpur courthouse where his fate will be determined. The former Deputy Prime Minister says his health is fine, though he has clearly lost weight. There is no sign of the black eye he received in jail, or the neck brace he wore during an arraignment last month. The charges against him, which could send him to jail for decades, fall into two categories: five relate to sexual acts, the details of which have been lubriciously related in local newspapers. The other five accuse Anwar of "corrupt practices"--the second most powerful man in the country allegedly instructed the police to pressure into silence two people accusing him of sexual misdeeds.

His former boss, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, hasn't ventured near the courthouse. But he too is in the dock, figuratively speaking, along with the entire Mahathir Era: a 17-year reign of impressive ambitions and achievements, along with some awkward political compromises. Mahathir is an assertive leader of a very Southeast Asian sort: enlightened in his goals of economic development, dependent on party politics and elections for power--and resolute in his control of other democratic institutions, such as the media and judiciary. For nearly all of his years in power, Mahathir's toughness earned him the admiration of his people.

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And then comes that unique moment, which no one can ever quite foresee, when the people change their minds. For Indonesia's Suharto, the triggers were high rice prices and riots provoked by his soldiers in the capital. For Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, it was the body of murdered rival Benigno Aquino splayed on an airport tarmac. Mahathir, 72, perceived his once-trusted deputy and heir apparent as a challenger to power. What followed could well turn out to be Mahathir's turning point. He accused Anwar of promiscuity with women and, more shockingly in largely Islamic Malaysia, with men. He fired him, personally questioned the alleged sex partners and then informed Malaysians, through a compliant press, that he was satisfied of Anwar's guilt. The Prime Minister became investigator, prosecutor, assignment editor and judge. When Anwar was hauled from a police van in late September with a black eye, Malaysians reacted as if the entire country had been sucker-punched.

Anwar now has a daily court appointment before a judge who could sentence him to 14 years in jail for any of the first four charges being tried. But Mahathir is facing a bigger and more important jury--a public that appears to be growing weary of his I-know-best rule. Last week Anwar declared himself the chief witness, and a decidedly hostile one, in that public "trial." He accused Mahathir of feathering his own nest--an ornate official residence is being built at the cost, according to Anwar, of $53 million--and those of his cronies. In a diary written in prison and posted last week on the Internet, Anwar alleged top-level corruption, naming names and detailing amounts. He characterized Mahathir as megalomaniacal, paranoid, isolated, a "grumpy" old man who views his people with contempt. His ambition, according to Anwar, has been to "install himself as the supreme feudal lord of the Malays."

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