The US ambassador was summoned to Malaysia's foreign ministry yesterday over controversial remarks by the Vice President, Mr Al Gore, as the trial of sacked deputy Prime Ministr, Mr Anwar Ibrahim, resumed after a weeklong break.
"We reiterated Malaysia's position that Gore's speech was an incitement to lawlessness and not simply a call for democracy as claimed," said the ministry's Under-Secretary for the Americas, Mr John Tenewi Nuek.
Mr Gore praised Anwar supporters as "brave" in calling for greater democracy in Malaysia during last week's Asia-Pacific summit, unleashing a torrent of outrage from indignant politicians and newspapers.
Mr Nuek was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as telling US envoy, Mr John Malott, that Malaysians were "shocked" by his defence of Mr Gore's statement in an interview published last Friday last week. Mr Malott told the Star newspaper that democracy was not just about holding elections but also about allowing dissent to be voiced freely.
"Stalin held elections. Even Hitler had elections. Democracy is a process of allowing all views to be heard, of allowing the competition of ideas," he said.
A spokesman for the US embassy said the meeting yesterday was "cordial" and that the ambassador "used it as an occasion to remind [Nuek] that the statement was a matter of public record".
The Foreign Minister, Mr Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, later yesterday brushed aside Mr Malott's suggestion that Mr Gore's remarks were taken out of context.
"Gore's speech had made reference to street violence in Kuala Lumpur. There was an indication of support. I don't think there is any misinterpretation," Mr Badawi was reported as saying by Bernama.
Meanwhile, a prosecution witness told Mr Anwar's trial yesterday that computer files containing allegations about Mr Anwar's sexual misconduct were X-rated.
Mr Zulkifli Mohamed, an officer with the criminal investigation department of the Royal Malaysian Police, told the court that he went to the advertising agency office of Ms Ummi Hafilda Ali a day after she was arrested last year.
"I did not take anything but Ummi handed me several documents along with a computer disk," Mr Zulkifli told the court as the trial resumed after a week-long recess. "The title of the two files on the disk are X-rated and XXX-rated."
Mr Zulkifli said one of the files was a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Mahathir Mohamad, from Ms Ummi, the sister of Mr Anwar's private secretary at the time. The other was a statement by Mr Azizan Abu Bakar, who was Mr Anwar's driver.
The two statements have emerged as key prosecution evidence in the trial which began on November 2nd.
A Malaysian opposition leader and two anti-government protesters, meanwhile, were arrested over the weekend and remanded in custody yesterday for eight days.