Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim urged Anwar Ibrahim today "to see the country from the windows of your heart" and not from his political point of view, which he said was muddied by the ongoing turmoil plaguing his party.

Likening Anwar to "a catfish eager to sting in a muddy pool", Rais said, the opposition leader had been all too eager to criticise the country, including belittling the recognition given to Malaysia as a modern Islamic nation.

"Anwar was once the deputy prime minister and now he is the opposition leader. He should not say one thing when he was 'swimming in clear water' and another when he is in 'a muddy pool'.

"Swimming in a muddy pool, he is like a catfish eager to sting at every opportunity'," he said.

Rais was speaking to reporters at the ministry's qurban ceremony at the Muhammadi Mosque, Angkasapuri. Present was broadcasting director-general Ibrahim Yahya.

Rais' remarks came on the heels of Anwar's interview with Sky News Australia on Monday in which the opposition leader urged the Julia Gillard government to pressure Malaysia, accusing the government of practising corruption and committing electoral fraud.

In the interview seen as an effort to garner international support after apparently having failed to obtain the United States backing over his sodomy accusation, Anwar also said that he considered the statement - that Malaysia a great moderate Muslim country - an insult.

Bitter turn in Anwar's political career

Rais said the remarks by Anwar showed that the opposition leader had begun to feel the bitter turn in his political career, unlike when he was still in the government.

"I would say it this way - a fish in the water knows not that it is actually in the water. Only when it is out stranded in the sand that it realises how scorching and bitter life has become.

"Anwar should see from the windows of his heart and not from the tumultuous politics he currently goes through," Rais said, adding that Malaysia was recognised not only by Australia but also by countries in the Middle East and Europe.

Rais said Anwar could find out for himself statements, praising Malaysia as a progressive Muslim country, from leaders attending the United Nations assemblies and those of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

He said in these summits and assemblies, Malaysia had been invariably referred to as an advanced Muslim country.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also joined the chorus in ticking off Anwar.

"Why is that an insult? He (Anwar) is the one who has made the insulting remark. That is why he is saying it's an insult. Perhaps it is already in his mind that we are despicable. We cannot accept that view," he told reporters after declaring the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) area as a national heritage site at the FRIM Square in Kepong.

- Bernama