Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leader, Anwar Ibrahim today said that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is on track for 16 September, where enough Members of Parliament (MP) from Barisan Nasional (BN) will crossover to PR to enable PR to form the new Federal Government.
He, however, declined to reveal the exact number of MPs who will crossover to PR. The BN MPs involved, instead, will reveal themselves when the time is right. In June, 2 BN MPs from Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) announced that they will support a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister.
Anwar, will be contesting in the coming by-election for the parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh which is vacated by his wife and PKR President, Wan Azizah Ismail. Nomination for the by-election has been set for 16 August while polling day on 26 August.
Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng and former Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon is set to debate on issues with specific focus on matters related to Penang, except the land scam issues, on 20 August in Shah Alam.
The venue for the debate has not been decided. However, both sides have decided that the debate shall be conducted in Malay and based on the US presidential debate format. Johan Jaafar, who moderated the debate between Anwar Ibrahim and Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek on 16 July will also moderate the debate between Lim and Koh.
The debate will be organized by news portal Agenda Daily and will be carried live by one of the TV stations of Media Prima, which operates TV3, NTV7, 8TV and TV9. Last month, TV9 had carried the debate between Anwar and Shabery live, which is also organized by Agenda Daily.
Today, Anwar Ibrahim is charged at the Sessions Court in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur for sodomizing Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan under section 377B of the Penal Code on June 26 between 3.01pm and 4.30pm at Unit 11-5-1 Desa Damansara Condo in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
Section 377B of the Penal Code reads:
Whoever voluntarily commits carnal intercourse against the order of nature shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to twenty years, and shall also be liable to whipping.
This means, Anwar is charged for consensual anal sex and not assault nor forced sex.
Anwar questioned why he was the only one brought to court if he was supposed to have had a consensual unnatural sexual act with his former aide, according to Malaysiakini.
“If it is consensual, why was I the only one being charged? This is a political persecution,” he said after he is released on a RM20,000 personal bond.
Anwar Ibrahim is charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code at the Sessions Court in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur for sodomizing Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan before Sessions Court judge, SM Komathy.
The sodomy was alleged to have taken place between 3.01pm and 4.30pm in 11-5-1 of the Desa Damansara Condominium at 99, Jalan Setia Kasih, Bukit Damansara on June 26 2008.
“This is a malicious slander and I’m not guilty,” he told the judge.
Although there is speculation that he will be denied bail and put behind bars, the prosecution did not object to bail. The prosecution proposed a RM20,000 and that Anwar is required to surrender his passport.
The judge then set bail at RM20,000 without surety. However, Anwar is not required to surrender his passport as the judge is of the opinion that Anwar is not likely to abscond.
The case has been set for mention on 10 September 2008.
Present at the court complex to support Anwar are his wife Wan Azizah Ismail (PKR President), daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar (MP for Lembah Pantai), Azmin Ali (MP for Gombak) and Tian Chua (MP for Batu).
DAP leaders present include Lim Kit Siang (MP for Ipoh Timur), Lim Guan Eng (Penang Chief Minister) and Gobind Singh Deo (MP for Puchong). Also present is PAS leader, Husam Musa.
Based on Malaysiakini’s report as updated on 7 Aug 2008 10:40:00 & The Star Online’s report as updated on 7 Aug 2008 10:20:40.
The following is the full press statement by Anwar Ibrahim today at 3pm regarding the move to charge him for sodomy tomorrow
This morning the Malaysian Election Commission announced nomination and polling day for the by-election that I will contest in Permatang Pauh. I look forward to the campaign period to meet with voters in my home constituency. I invite all Malaysians to join me in this historic campaign to bring forth a New Dawn for Malaysia as we work together to build a more peaceful and prosperous nation.
At the same time we would reiterate our longstanding concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. To this date, the evidence of phantom voters and ballot box stuffing has yet to be addressed by the Election Commission. The poor handling of the use of indelible ink in the General Elections gives all Malaysians, particularly those in Permatang Pauh, reason to be concerned about the conduct of polling this month. I urge the Election Commission to take this opportunity to restore some credibility to its reputation by fulfilling its constitutional mandate to ensure that voting is fair and unbiased.
On a darker note, I regret to say that I fear an enormous injustice is about to be perpetrated upon the Malaysian people, worse than those actions taken in 1988 and 1998 which rendered almost irreparable harm against the institutions of democracy and the rule of law. While some individuals suffered greatly by those actions, the Malaysian people have been the greatest losers.
Tomorrow I will be charged with a crime I did not commit. The real criminals will, in their efforts to humiliate me and to derail the people’s aspirations for transformational change in Malaysia, hide behind a smokescreen created by the government controlled mainstream media.
