Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah said yesterday that Anwar and his friend Datuk S. Nallakaruppan would face several new charges of offences under the Penal Code and Women and Girls Protection Act 1973 after the disposal of the present cases.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Seri Rahim Noor reiterated that the police would ensure that Anwar's trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court proceeded without incident. "Even if anything unexpected takes place, we will be able to handle the situation," he added.

On the same day, Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad stated that supporters of Anwar wanted to topple the Government to prevent his former deputy from facing criminal trial.

On the other hand, Anwar supporters believe that the judiciary is not independent and that Anwar's trials will not be fair.

In a few days, Kuala Lumpur will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, Summit. Prime Ministers and Presidents including President Clinton, U.S.A., will attend. Not only will they be interested in economic crisis, but also Anwar's trials.

During the debate on the 1999 budget in Parliament, I have said that politics and economics cannot be separated and that the Anwar case will influence the world's opinion about the Malaysian Government. We would like the police to have a high degree of professionalism and the courts to be just.

Certainly, tomorrow the KL High Court is going to be crowded by locals and foreigners such as journalists and representatives like Amnesty International. Let us see that the police maintain order professionally and that the court deals with Anwar's case without fear or favour as stressed by the Attorney-General.

If the trials of Anwar are seen to be just and the police can handle the crowd without brutality, it will go a long way to show a good image for Malaysia. The confidence of investors depends partly on this image.

The foreign exchange control since 1 October 1998 will bring some benefits to the country. How do we recover? Partly, we have to work hard. Partly, it is the investors' confidence that will help us to recover economically. A good image of the country will go a long way to achieve this.