Former information minister Zainuddin Maidin has questioned the absence of key figures from Pakatan Rakyat at the rallies and candlelight vigils for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

In a blog posting today, he said the events are attended by "hired hands, reserve personnel and 'bahlul' (dumb) students."

Drawing a comparison with Nelson Mandela during his incarceration, Zainuddin said the South African leader's friends were bold enough to be detained along with him for years.

"But the generals who have been at the frontline of the struggle with Anwar have disappeared.

"Where are Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Azmin Ali, Abdul Hadi Awang, Mohamad Sabu, Husam Musa and others with regard to the candlelight vigils outside the Sungai Buloh prison and the weekly demonstrations in front of the Sogo shopping mall?" he asked.  

Furthermore, the former minister said Malaysia is not a nation littered with unemployed people like Indonesia.

He said it would not be sufficient to lure protesters with a packet of rice, cigarettes and a little money.

"In Malaysia if the payment to attend demonstrations is not increased, then protesters would decrease because there are other jobs with a bigger payment," he added.

Zainuddin, who is popularly known as Zam, said when Anwar ( right ) landed in prison, there were numerous efforts to portray him to be someone in the same league as Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.

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However, he noted that while Mandela spent almost three decades in prison, Anwar has been behind bars only for a few days and received the privilege of his daughter monitoring his health condition.

On Feb 10, the Federal Court upheld the opposition leader's sodomy conviction and five-year prison sentence.