Absent Anwar makes waves at Ipoh rally

The aftershocks of the latest sodomy allegations against Anwar Ibrahim were felt in Ipoh last night.

MCPX

The PKR de facto leader was to have addressed a 20,000-strong rally at the Ipoh Stadium to mark the Pakatan Rakyat state government’s first 100 days in power.

But Anwar was forced to forego his schedule after seeking shelter at the Turkish embassy in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend, claiming that his life was in danger.

On Saturday, his aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, had lodged a police report alleging that he had been sodomised by Anwar. The latter has described the accusation as a “complete fabrication”.

During the rally, Perak PKR information chief Mohamad Hasim - also known as Cikgu Mat - openly named Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak as the ‘architect’ of the allegations.

Displaying a photograph on the giant screen, Mohamad said it reveals that the accuser “is Najib’s agent”. It shows Mohd Saiful (in blue shirt) with Najib’s special officer Khairil Anas Yusof at the deputy premier office.

“This is Najib’s conspiracy to destroy Anwar,” he said to shouts of celaka Najib (damn Najib!) ringing across the stadium.

This morning, however, Najib dismissed the notion that he was involved in a conspiracy to ruin Anwar’s political career.

Cikgu Mat also hinted that the new allegation against Anwar could be a direct result of a statutory declaration filed by Malaysia Today blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin on “new evidence” in connection with the murder of Mongolian national Atantuya Shaariibuu.

Raja Petra had claimed that Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, was among three individuals who had been at the crime scene, a charge that both premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib have denied.

‘Protect Anwar’ aim

PKR political strategist Saifuddin Nasution told the rally that party leaders and supporters would fight to protect Anwar from another ordeal similar to the one he faced in 1998.

“We will not let him to be caught, stripped naked, assaulted and accused with slanderous lies. No matter what happens, we are determined to protect Anwar from any danger,” he said.

He claimed that leaders of a shaky Barisan Nasional have resorted to dirty politics to destroy Anwar’s credibility after failing to taint his reputation with claims of corruption, malpractice, misappropriation of funds and abuse of power.

Saifuddin stressed that Pakatan leaders, including DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh, PAS spiritual advisor Nik Aziz Nik Mat, are firmly with Anwar.

“No matter what happens in the next few days, weeks or months, Anwar’s safety is our paramount mission. We shall never allow the powers-that-be to destroy him again,” he told the cheering crowd.

Perak Mentri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin, Nik Aziz, Perak PKR chief Ismail Yusop, and DAP vice-chairperson Dr Tan Seng Giaw all condemned the sodomy allegation as “politically motivated to throw Pakatan Rakyat off balance”.