Malaysia closed the book yesterday on one of its ugliest political episodes when a former chief of police apologised for beating former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim and giving him a black eye seven years ago. In return for the apology and an unspecified sum of money, Anwar dropped his law suit against former police chief Rahim Noor, who had hit Anwar on the night he was arrested on criminal charges that were widely viewed as politically motivated.

?I appeal to my friends in the police force to take heed of this and conduct themselves professionally for the sake of the country,? Anwar told reporters after Rahim?s lawyer read out the apology in court. ?Our concern has always been it?s not a personal vendetta but to make it an example that no other citizen will be victimised and to teach a lesson that no one can be spared if you abuse the law,? he said. Once a step away from Malaysia?s highest office, Anwar was sacked as deputy premier and finance minister in September 1998, after a fall-out with then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad who had been his mentor for many years and groomed him for the top job.

He was later arrested and brought to court with a black eye to answer charges of sodomy and corruption he said were trumped up. Images of him waving from a police vehicle with the black eye earned Malaysia international condemnation. After six years in prison, he was released last year when his sodomy charge was overturned on appeal and his corruption sentence had expired. Mahathir had retired by then. Rahim was given a brief jail sentence and fined by a court in 2000 after pleading guilty to hitting Anwar. He has been out of the public eye since.

Anwar dropped demands for a similar apology from Mahathir and the present government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. ?Naturally, the other parties have not shown the same sort of a remorse,? Anwar said. ?But it?s to my mind, a satisfactory solution. There?s no point in going on with this episode as too many years have passed.? ?It?s not easy ... the pain, anguish, humiliation was huge. But I agree that we have to move on.?