Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is back in full throttle. More than 30,000 people filled the stadium at Shah Alam to give him moral support and thrash the regime of Prime Minister Najib Razak for conspiring to defame him through foul means with the use of a video tape that allegedly shows him cavorting with a prostitute.
The crowd of mostly Muslims listened raptly as the de-facto head of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition and his star-studded line-up that included PAS president Hadi Awang, Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Aziz and DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang (below), spoke at length on the video conspiracy and their own Buku Jingga or Orange Book of reforms for Malaysia.
Nik Aziz, who is also PAS spiritual adviser, led the crowd in prayers for Anwar, who is widely regarded as the politician with the most viable chances of toppling the ruling coalition, accused of massive and long-standing corruption.
The sex video is not the first scandal that the Umno elite have tried to hang on him in a bid to discredit him. Anwar was once deputy prime minister of Malaysia and a star Finance minister who was often held up by global bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, as a model policymaker for emerging nations.
So far, Najib's BN coalition has already prosecuted him on two separate sodomy cases – one in 1998, from which Anwar has already been acquitted and the other in 2008, which is still on-going despite worldwide condemnation for the trial's lack of evidence and bias against Anwar.
“What the Umno-BN wants is not to stop Anwar but to stop the citizens from being led by Anwar to an era of enlightenment and reform,” the Opposition Leader told the crowd, which roared back its support.
Whistleblower’s Act and Witness Protection Act
But even as he spoke, news swirled that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz had told reporters the government was considering using the Whistleblower’s Act and Witness Protection Act to shield the three men responsible for publicising the pornographic tape in their bid to smear Anwar.
"However, both Acts need not be used at the moment as no party has been prosecuted and the case is still under police investigation," national news agency Bernama reported Nazri as saying.
The three men who screened the video to journalists and PKR members in a bid to get them to defect to Umno are former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik, businessman Shazryl Eskay and Perkasa treasurer Shuaib Lazim. All three are Umno members.
Although it is an offense to keep and publicly screen pornographic material, the police have refused to arrest them.
Najib himself has denied Umno is involved but few Malaysians believe him.
More persecutions, incredulous plots expected
Late last night, police harassed PKR deputy president Azmin Ali at his home. Some 20 to 30 policemen swooped down on his residence, presumably in a bid to embarrass him and his family. Their purpose was merely to deliver a notice to get him to explain his role in a March25 function where Anwar had been stopped by the police from finishing his speech to a gathering of several hundred.
Upset by the high-handed police action, the crowd retaliated and many were roughed up while several were arrested. Azmin’s lawyers have issued a letter of demand to the police to apologize within 48 hours or face legal action.
"The gathering was peaceful and organised but it became chaotic when the police started to come in and provoked the peaceful function," insisted Azmin.
Back to the wall, the Umno elite are unlikely to retreat given that they hold the upperhand in terms of control over the police and the judiciary. Based on Nazri's latest comments, pundits say Malaysians can expect the Umno elite and their spin-masters from the mainstream media to churn out even more incredulous plots.
“Those who created the (video) issue must be knocking their heads on the wall when they see the crowd tonght,” said Arfa Aziz, the press secretary for the Selangor mentri besar Khalid Ibrahim. - Malaysia Chronicle
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