Tuesday July 1, 2008

Face police probe if you’re innocent, says Mohd Ali

MALACCA: Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should be brave enough to face police investigations if the allegation against him is mere fabrication.

“If he is innocent, he should be brave enough to face the police. I also hope the Turkish Embassy does not intervene in our national affairs,” he said when contacted in Kedah.

Echoing the same sentiment in Kuala Lumpur, Pasir Mas MP Datuk Ibrahim Ali urged Anwar to let the police investigate the allegations instead of claiming it as a conspiracy.

“It is not healthy to make such an allegation just after a police report is lodged,” said Ibrahim.

In Kota Baru, PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa called on the Government to apply the Islamic approach.

To guarantee justice and fairness to both the accuser and the suspect, Husam said the Islamic Syariah Law compels the calling of four witnesses to ascertain if sexual misconduct occurred between the two.

He said the emphasis towards finding the truth and the verdict of guilt beyond reasonable doubt in Islam would also ensure that anybody who made a false allegation would also be punished.

The four witnesses would also be compelled to be impartial and sincere as they stand the risk of huge suffering in the afterlife if they too commit a sin by making false statements, he said in a statement.

Husam said the first allegation of sexual misconduct against Anwar remained fresh in many minds of Malaysians.

Therefore, the latest episode was bound to be seen by many as an attempt to cripple the efforts of the Pakatan Rakyat alliance to become the next Federal Government, he said.

Tuesday July 1, 2008

Assurance on Anwar’s safety

By IZATUN SHARI

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar have given assurances on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's personal safety but advised that the law be allowed to take its course.

“We assure him of his personal safety. He’s never been harassed all this while especially when he was campaigning as an opposition leader,” Najib, who is the Deputy Prime Minister, told newsmen at the Parliament lobby yesterday when asked to comment on Anwar seeking refuge at the Turkish Embassy following the fresh allegation of sodomy against him.

Show of support: Anwar’s supporters gathering at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

“This is not a question of political prosecution. It’s a question of law. Let the law takes its course,” he added.

Syed Hamid, who is the Home Minister, said he gave the guarantee that Anwar would not be harmed.

“After he was released from prison, Anwar had been politically active and moved freely about the country without any endangerment to his life,” he stressed.

“It will be a bit odd for him to say he has no confidence in the police when his life is not being threatened and he’s making speeches everywhere. It’s not fair for him to try to cast aspersions on the force,” he said.

He said it was Anwar himself who had sought an appointment with the Turkish ambassador at his office yesterday and then refused to leave.

Asked on Anwar’s previous experience in custody back in 1997 when he was punched in the eye by the then Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Rahim Noor, Syed Hamid said action had been taken against the man responsible.

Meanwhile, Najib also denied any involvement in the sodomy allegation against Anwar.

“I am not involved in the case in any way,” he said when asked to comment on PKR president Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail releasing a picture of his special officer Khairil Anas Yusof with the accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at the Deputy Prime Minister’s office, implying that he was behind the alleged conspiracy against Anwar.

Mohd Saiful, who was a student leader and Anwar’s special assistant during the March general election, lodged a police report alleging that he was sodomised by Anwar last Thursday.

Najib said the picture was taken when Mohd Saiful went to his office to apply for a government scholarship three months ago.

“The officer (Mohd Saiful) met with my officer (Khairil Anas) because he wanted to apply for a scholarship from the Government. The picture was taken three months ago,” he said.

Asked whether the Government would question the Turkish Ambassador for offering refuge to Anwar, he said: “It is up to the Foreign Minister to tell the Turkish Ambassador.”

On Anwar’s claim that he received death threats from Barisan Nasional agents, Najib said: “We’re not involved in anything to threaten any politician.”