Jailed Malaysian leader's daughter to launch campaign

Malaysian jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's second daughter Nurul Nuha will lead a March to Freedom campaign to seek release for her father, media reported Wednesday.

Nurul Nuha, 31, was introduced to local and foreign media as the "face" of the campaign by her elder sister Nurul Izzah, who is the People's Justice Party (PKR) vice-president, at their family home here, The Malaysian Star reported.

Nurul Izzah said the focus was to set up the campaign secretariat with Nurul Nuha as the the face of the campaign effort.

"As his children, we will take over his mantle and continue his struggle, hopes and ambition," she said.

"These 17 years have been an emotional roller coaster. We do not know how long this struggle will continue but we will be with our father till the end," Nurul Nuha said before breaking down in tears at an emotionally charged press conference.

She added that the campaign would be a local-based movement that would reach out to Malaysians abroad while seeking pressure from international bodies to free Anwar who was sentenced by the Federal Court Tuesday for sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in June 2008.