Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Penang cops visit Anwar at his office

A team of five police personnel from Penang today visited the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya to record a statement from party de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

police interrogate anwar 110310 anwar pc 02Anwar is being probed for sedition, criminal defamation and illegal assembly involving a string of ceramah in Penang last month.

His statements were recorded in a room with a glass window to allow the press to witness proceedings.

Anwar was accompanied by two lawyers - R Sivarasa and Yusmadi Yusoff - who are both party leaders and members of Parliament.

The police team comprising three assistant superintendants was accompanied by two Special Branch officers from the Bukit Aman federal headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

police interrogate anwar 110310 crowd outsideThey arrived at 11.15am and the process of recording of Anwar's statement lasted one hour.

The investigation follows a rally blitz by Anwar to shore up support in his ongoing second sodomy trial.

Anwar told reporters after the session that police reports had been made against him involving his speeches at four separate events in Penang last month over the Chinese New Year period.

"The investigation is with regards to four police reports that were made against me in Penang," he said.

Of the four reports, three were lodged by the police and one by a 'concerned citizen'.

15 Pakatan reps under probe

According to Anwar, he was under investigation for a litany of alleged offences - unlawful assembly, sedition and criminal defamation.

police interrogate anwar 110310 03The contentious part of his speeches included those on the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case, the controversial procurement of the Scorpene submarines, the scandal involving two missing jet engines and his second sodomy trial.

The four events were held in various venues in Penang - Kepala Batas in Seberang Jaya, Batu Maung in Bayan Baru, Kampung Baru in Padang Tembak and Kubang Semang in Permatang Pauh.

police interrogate anwar 110310 02Anwar accused the police of being used by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansor and other Umno leaders to intimidate opposition leaders.

Asked to elaborate, Anwar replied: "Desperation. When authoritarian leaders sense strong demand to change, they usually resort to punitive measures and exploit the state institutions, including the police force."

He revealed that this year alone, 15 Pakatan MPs and state assemblypersons were being investigated by police all relating to events held in Penang.

Apolice interrogate anwar 110310 01sked why the police were zeroing on his speeches in Penang, Anwar said he was unsure, but believes there was a conspiracy against the Penang government and its chief minister Lim Guan Eng

"The Najib-Rosmah administration wants to show that Pakatan Penang and Guan Eng are anti-Islam and anti-Malay," he said.

courtesy of Malaysiakini

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