Khairy: We've come to 'bury' Anwar (Malaysiakini)

Barisan Nasional (BN) will not only defeat Anwar Ibrahim in the Aug 26 Permatang Pauh by-election, the ruling coalition will also bury his political career.

This bold prognosis came from Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

Speaking at a ceramah in Seberang Jaya last night, he riled up the audience by characterising the upcoming contest as one that would decide the fate of the nation.

During a fiery 30-minute speech, Khairy said BN candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah's true challenge was to end the career of the ‘power crazy’ opposition leader.

"We are here to bury Anwar’s political career. We are here to make history to ensure our nation’s future is free and safe from him!" he thundered to loud cheers from those present.

Standing on a makeshift stage, the Umno Youth leader fired a volley of scathing attacks, punctuated with biting jokes, against the PKR supremo.

Among others, he took a swipe at the opposition leader’s plan to form government, his alleged cronies, the explosive sodomy charge and the relationship between Pakatan Rakyat parties.

Reveal source of funds

Citing the arrests of two PKR Perak executive councillors by the Anti-Corruption Agency yesterday, he chided the opposition party for being inconsistent in their graft-busting campaign.

He also touched on the RM15 billion worth of contracts which Anwar had allegedly given to his cronies - without tender - while he was in the BN government.

Khairy, who is the son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, also asked Anwar to reveal the source of his election war-chest.

"I am afraid that if Anwar is elected as a MP and forms a new federal government, our country will be sold to the United States. I want to know where his (election) fund comes from," he said.

The Rembau MP also reiterated his challenge to Anwar to make a religious oath to prove his innocence in relation to the sodomy allegation against him.

Why take Saiful overseas?

On June 28, Anwar's former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan filed a police report claiming that he was sodomised by the politician, who was subsequently charged with the offence.

Last Friday, Saiful, 23, swore on the Quran that he was sodomised by the opposition leader.
Anwar has denied the accusation, calling it a political conspiracy. He also dismissed the religious swearing, done on the eve of nomination day for the by-election, as a political gimmick.

Meanwhile, Khairy had the crowd in stitches when he avoided using the word sodomy. Instead, he said Saiful had swore on the Quran that he was indeed "dot, dot, dot" by Anwar.

Drilling further into the matter, he also asked why the PKR leader brought 'coffee boy' Saiful along for his travels abroad.

"Anwar had an interview with Malaysiakini. I read Malaysiakini and they asked Anwar whether he took Saiful overseas and he replied 'yes'.

"I don’t understand why he would take a coffee boy, a volunteer without a fixed salary, overseas. I never take my coffee boy abroad.

"However, my friend told me that if Anwar took him overseas then the coffee made by Saiful must be kaw-kaw (strong)," he added to laughter from his audience.

Towards the end of his speech, Khairy once again called on voters to reject Anwar and stressed that the BN-led government would be fair to all.

"Regardless if you are Malay, Chinese or Indian, we help all Malaysians," he said.

Najib on fair policies

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak also pledged equal treatment for all during another function.

He told a 700-strong Chinese audience that the BN government has been fair to the community and allows them to retain their Chinese name - unlike the forced assimilation policies practised by neighbouring countries.

"If you go to other places in the region, the Chinese had to change their names and couldn’t go to Chinese schools. But here, we let everyone practise their culture.

"The name Lee Chong Wei is still Lee Chong Wei. This is BN’s policy until today," he said at the ceremony to hand over a checque for RM300,000 to the Beijing Olympics silver medalist.

Najib also announced that RM800,000 has been approved for the building of a sports complex in the constituency.

Reiterating that BN has been fair to all, he said the government approved the building of different universities ran by the Chinese-based MCA and Gerakan, as well as the Indian-based MIC.

Without a fair policy, he added, some of the wealthiest men in the country would not be Chinese and Indians.

Without naming Anwar, the deputy premier took a certain ‘opposition leader’ to task for making irresponsible promises to the people.

"When he was in power, he did not do anything. When he is not in power now, he makes 1,001 promises to the people. This is just playing politics," he said.

BN candidate Arif, who was also present, briefly addressed the crowd in Mandarin and Hokkien before attacking his opponent.

"Anwar said if you vote him, you get two prizes (MP and a new premier) and if you vote me, you will just get one prize. He is lying because no BN MP will defect," he said.

entire news n photo courtesy of Malaysiakini