Candidate vows to campaign 'behind bars'

PKR's Permatang Pauh candidate Anwar Ibrahim was confident of winning the seat despite a high possibility of him missing the election campaign over a sodomy charge .

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Anwar said his plan to contest in the Aug 26 by-election will proceed even if he is denied bail tomorrow after he is charged in court.

"During my speech last week in Permatang Pauh, I did indicate already that there is a possibility that my sarong and songkok will appear without me (in the campaign)," he quipped.

He cited the case of Kota Alam Shah state assemblyperson M Manoharan who won the seat in the last general election while being detained under the Internal Security Act.

The Permatang Pauh by-election is being called after Anwar's wife, incumbent MP Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail resigned last Thursday to pave way for his return to Parliament.

‘ We try our best'

Already an overwhelming favourite to win the seat, Anwar was confident of retaining the seat - which he first held in 1982 on Umno's ticket - despite the prospect of his detention.

"I am confident because I know the constituents and (Wan) Azizah has served the constituency very well. Umno is in disarray and the government has mismanaged the economy, we have enough reasons (to be confident)," said Anwar.

He, however, cautioned the Election Commission (EC) to uphold integrity in the electoral process.

Anwar, nevertheless, was not so confident when asked if he could secure a bigger win than his wife's in the March 8 general election.

Wan Azizah had then defended her seat for the third term with an impressive 13,388-vote majority after defeating Umno's Pirdaus Ismail for the second time.

"She (Wan Azizah) is more popular there, so I am not going to compete with her. I'm happy if Azizah's majority is much more than mine," quipped Anwar.

On a serious note, he said: "We (will) try our best to secure a more comfortable majority. I am not in the position to say what's the majority like. We should know this is a by-election and hundreds of millions will be spent."

Anwar was served with a police notice earlier today to appear at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions' Court tomorrow morning to be charged with sodomy of his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23.

The opposition leader could be held under detention pending trial as sodomy is a non-bailable offence, but bail can be granted at the court's discretion.

He was denied bail when he was charged for similar offences 10 years ago for fear that he might tamper with witnesses if freed.

However, the charge will not have a bearing on his eligibility to stand as an election candidate because only those who are convicted are barred from running.

New dawn for M'sia agenda

Elaborating on the government's move, Anwar said: "Today they announced the election dates, tomorrow they charge me in court, their strategy is so sleek but no matter how dirty and sleek their tactic is, the truth prevails eventually insyallah (God willing)."

Anwar said Pakatan Rakyat component parties, including PAS and DAP, are ready to campaign for him in the by-election.

Asked whether the polling date, which falls on a Tuesday, a working day, will hurt his chances of winning, the PKR leader described the EC's decision as "odd" because there is a significant number of Permatang Pauh voters who are civil servants and industrial workers.

Polling day usually falls on a weekend to encourage a high voter turnout.

To a question on whether he foresees his nomination papers being rejected by the EC, Anwar laughed and replied: "Everything is possible in this country, Malaysia boleh (Malaysia can)."

Anwar also expressed hope that he would not be denied bail so that he could meet voters and explain to them his ‘New dawn for Malaysia' agenda during the election campaign.

"I look forward to joining my colleagues in Parliament to prepare for the historic transition that the country is eagerly waiting," he said, referring to the remaining 81 Pakatan MPs.