Anwar: This is not 1998

Anwar: This is not 1998

By Debra Chong

PETALING JAYA, July 23 –

A simple question during a press conference this afternoon at Parti Keadilan Rakyat headquarters elicited a strong, emotional outburst from Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

It began when a reporter asked the PKR adviser to comment on his allegations that doctors had been harassed to change their report on him and his former aide 23-year-old Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan who had accused him sodomy.

My comment on that will be to ask the police to carry out, not under Musa Hassan (the Inspector-General of Police), investigations professionally," Anwar replied calmly.


"If I find evidence of tampering, I will put up a major fight. I have reasons to believe it can happen. From what happened in the past... they are still in office," he continued, before bursting into a tirade against police intimidation and harassment, particularly against the IGP, whom Anwar had accused of tampering with evidence in his 1998 trial.

Anwar was arrested by the police last week and asked to undergo a medical examination to assist in investigations into allegations of sodomy by his former aide. He was also asked to give a blood sample for DNA comparison which he emphatically refused.

"Remember the case of Sukma Dermawan? He spent six months in jail. I spent six years! There was evidence by the foreign doctors of tampering with evidence. They found no penetration, but we were still jailed."

Sukma is Anwar's adopted brother who was accused of committing sodomy with the former deputy prime minister in 1999.

The seasoned politician went on to graphically explain at length his most recent medical examination while he under arrest – on how he had been ordered to strip, had his private parts measured, plus his anus checked and probed.

In a strident voice, he reminded reporters and photographers present today of the stained mattress hauled into court 10 years ago and how the chemist under questioning then had first claimed the stains to be "sperm" but later when questioned by foreign experts, backtracked his statement and alleged that the police had forced him to give the first statement.

"Just because I'm on the other side of the political spectrum, it's grossly unjust for them to do that. It's a matter of human dignity. Yes, Anwar is a politician. Yes, Anwar is Public Enemy No. 1, but you don't want this to happen to you, to your children.

"This is not 1998, not 1999, when they (the media) can have the whole scoop and change everything we say. Sometimes people think this is a political play but this is cruelty. It's cruel for those who try to deny this

kzso - yep, this is not 1998 when he fools people around. this is 2008 where people are more smarter with his strategies. with the world wide website/internet, informations are disseminate faster and people can make better judgement. anyway, the truth will prevail