Suporters of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan have denied claims that they were paid to rally outside the Palace of Justice, claiming that they genuinely wanted justice for the alleged sodomy victim.

Saiful’s supporters outside the court complex swelled in numbers today, the second day of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II appeal before the Federal Court.

 

Chanting “Arrest Anwar! Arrest the sodomite!” the group came wearing yellow, red and blue shirts and numbered around 200, compared with about 100 who gathered yesterday.

 

When interviewed, each of the Saiful supporters denied being paid to come, contrary to allegations by some Pakatan supporters.

 

A 30-year old night market trader, who declined to be named, said he was there because he wanted to see justice upheld for Saiful.

 

“Whatever they want to say, it’s their right to say it. The sure thing is, we are here because we want justice. That is all.

 

“Leave them with their provocations that we got money, got buses, got houses; that is their right. We don’t want to know. What we know is we want justice, that is all,” the trader, who did not want to be named, told Malaysiakini .

Earlier today, while addressing the pro-Anwar crowd, Taman Medan assemblyperson Mohd Haniza Talha claimed that the Saiful supporters had been paid RM60 each and given a T-shirt each for their attendance yesterday, the first day of the hearing.

This allegation has also been circulated among Pakatan supporters since yesterday.

 

The trader supporting Saiful said some individuals had actually gone around to gather donations to hire a bus and print the T-shirts for the supporters.

 

However, he declined to reveal the sum he had contributed, saying, “It is a sincere contribution. There is no need to know the amount.”

 

Another pro-Saiful demonstrator, who identified herself only as Nina, said her transport from Selayang and the pro-Saiful paraphernalia were provided by an NGO, but she denied being paid to attend.

 

“This is our own initiative. We never take any money from any other people because we need justice for Saiful. We know Saiful is a victim of oppression,” she said.

 

Nina declined to name the NGO that sponsored her trip, saying that it wanted keep a low profile in order to avoid drawing ire from politicians.

Anwar was on March 7 sentenced to five years' jail by the Court of Appeal that convicted him for sodomising his former aide Saiful.

His final appeal against the sentence began yesterday at the Federal Court and the hearing is slated for two days, with a possible extension until tomorrow.

Anwar, who is free on bail, maintains the charge against him is politically motivated.

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