Overnight detention a case of 'vendetta'

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said today he was the victim of a "vendetta", after being held overnight on sodomy accusations levelled by a young male aide.

Anwar, who was released on bail, said he was treated like a "major criminal" and needed medical treatment after a night in a bare cell at Kuala Lumpur police headquarters which aggravated a back injury.

"Dumped in a cell to sleep on a cold cement floor with nothing... that has exacerbated the pain," said Anwar, who was arrested yesterday by a team of police commandos.

"I don't deserve this - no Malaysian deserves this. Why treat me like a major criminal?" he told a press conference, adding that he was subjected to an examination which included the measuring of his genitals.

"They have seen all my private parts. Of course I refused to be photographed, it could be on YouTube very soon! You mean I can trust the system?"

Anwar rejected the allegations levelled by 23-year-old aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan as another conspiracy, following the events of 1998 when he was sacked as deputy premier and jailed on sodomy and corruption counts.

"It appears that the events of the last few days, the nature of my unwarranted arrest, my overnight incarceration which was actually absolutely unnecessary, were an act of personal vengeance against me," he said.

"They should not use this as a personal vendetta against me."

No faith in the system

Anwar said he was being targeted because of allegations he has made against the attorney-general and chief of police over his treatment during his original trial.

He has lodged a police report accusing them of manipulating evidence in an investigation into the severe beating he received when he was in police custody at the time.

The 60-year-old opposition leader defended his decision not to give a DNA sample during yesterday's examination, saying he had no faith in the system after fabricated DNA evidence was used against him in his trial a decade ago.

"My decision to refuse a DNA test is taken through advice of my lawyers and DNA experts," he said.

And he criticised the decision to arrest him, when he had agreed to face police interrogation at a meeting scheduled just an hour after he was picked up by police.

"I am disappointed with the way the police have handled this whole situation," he said.

Syed Hamid: We're under international pressure

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar defended the authorities' actions and rejected allegations the government was trying to derail Anwar's plans of forming a new administration with the help of government defectors.

"We are now under international pressure because of the various allegations, so we need to be careful in what we do," Syed Hamid said, dismissing Anwar's claims as a ploy to create sympathy at home and abroad.

"(He) has created some negative perceptions. He has strong supporters in the international arena, he has conditioned the mind of the people that he is going to become prime minister and that we are going to stop him," he said.

Deputy police chief Ismail Omar said Anwar could be hit with a court order to force him to give a sample, and defended police tactics, saying there was a "reasonable suspicion" to arrest him.

"There was credible suspicion, credible information based on all the evidence that we had gathered," he told reporters.

Under the bail conditions, Anwar is required to report back to police on Aug 18.

In remarks certain to infuriate Malaysia's government, which has attacked Anwar as a "snitch" for the United States, the US State Department said Wednesday that the arrest raised "serious concerns".

- AFP