Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today urged all parties to leave Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan alone following the latter's swearing upon a Quran on Friday that he was sodomised by Anwar Ibrahim.

Abdullah called on all quarters to ‘leave him alone' and not to criticise his action to prove his case.

saiful bukhari azlan and anwar ibrahim sodomy 2 pc 150808 03 "The boy seeks justice in the sodomy case because he was a victim.

"Instead of criticising the manner he had performed the swearing, one should admire his courage to do so.

"One should question the accused instead, not the accuser," said the Umno president during his first visit on campaign to Permatang Pauh.

By tradition the BN's election campaigns for by-elections are led by the deputy prime minister with the prime minister rarely making a campaigning visit.

Abdullah's visit to Permatang Pauh today indicated BN's need to bring in all their big guns to ensure victory. He is also the member of parliament for the neighbouring Kepala Batas constituency.

Meanwhile a quick survey in the constituency revealed that the sodomy saga had minimal impact on voters.

Like the pre-Quran swearing period, persistent rumours are widespread now that pictures revealing ‘Anwar-Saiful' intimacy would be out soon.

Local Umno leaders however are worried that BN candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah would face the wrath of voters' backlash if the saga dragged on.

Attacks on newsmen bad

abdullah ahmad badawi pm mahathir quits umno pc 190508 03 Abdullah also described the attack on two photographers at the Permatang Pauh by-election nomination day yesterday as having painted a bad picture on the country.

He said the attack by overzealous supporters, no matter whatever the reasons were, did not augur well for the freedom and democracy enjoyed by all Malaysians.

"This is violence and against the law," he told journalists after touring the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency, which is staging the high stake by-election on Aug 26.

The Barisan Nasional chairperson however cut short of naming or blaming anyone for the incident, but rather expressed disappointment that such incidents have occurred.

"Party supporters should not get carried away while expressing their passionate support to respective parties.

"This is not the way to secure victory for their candidate," he said, adding that the supporters should use democracy to elect their leaders, not to fight with others.

In the assault, a New Straits Times photographer and a French photo-journalist were attacked by a group of people allegedly to be opposition supporters.

The 26-year-old NST employee Mohamad Sairien Mohamad Nafiz suffered bodily injuries and lost his RM15,000 Canon digital camera, while the foreign media man sustained head and leg injuries.

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim and the favourite to win the by-election said his party would launch an immediate probe into the attack on the two photographers.