INTERVIEW Umno man Khairuddin Abu Hassan’s sudden support for former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was not because of any repentance on his part after contracting dengue.

In saying this, the former Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chief went on to rubbish the claim on this made by Anwar’s wife, Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

“It’s not true at all. It’s not a matter of repenting. To me, that is rubbish,” Khairuddin said in an interview with Malaysiakini .

He said his recent statement on Anwar was made as the country’s situation was getting from bad to worse, both politically and economically.

“It’s high time for us to close ranks, to push aside all political differences to rebuild Malaysia,” he stressed.

Wan Azizah ( photo ) said on Monday that Khairuddin’s sudden support for Anwar may have been due to a life-changing experience he underwent while in police custody.

“When he went inside, he must have repented after being arrested and getting dengue,” she said.

However, Khairuddin said his statement that he will support efforts for Anwar to be released simply came “from the bottom of his heart”.

“Based on humanitarian grounds, I deeply sympathise with him to a certain extent. Anwar had undergone the penalty of the first (sodomy) conviction for quite some time,” he said.

In his recent two-month detention, Khairuddin was also detained at the Sungai Buloh Prison - the same place where Anwar is currently incarcerated.

He did want to meet Anwar, but was told by prison officials that he was not allowed to meet the former deputy prime minister.

“Even when I bumped into him, I was not allowed to talk to him,” Khairuddin said.

He did manage to receive a “positive response” from Anwar, who smiled at him when the latter was doing his brisk walking exercise at the prison’s medical block compound.

Elaborating further on the call he made last Saturday (to free Anwar), Khairuddin merely expressed that he would support efforts for Anwar to be released, should there be such a move.

“Who am I to say that Putrajaya has to release Anwar? I didn’t say that,” he said.

He said he was misinterpreted by “one Umno Youth punk” who accused him of urging for Anwar’s release.

“I plan to take legal action against him,” said Khairuddin.

‘Why are you afraid of people like Anwar?’

Meanwhile, Khairuddin also questioned the apparent fear of Anwar among people in high positions in the country.

“If you are governing the country well and according to the rule of law, why are you afraid of people like Anwar?

“If you run the country well, we can have one million Anwars around us and it would be nothing. Why should we be afraid of our own shadows?”

Moving forward, Khairuddin does not discount the possibility of even waiting for Anwar outside the prison walls when he is released.

“I may do that (wait for Anwar outside the prison),” he said.

However, his message for Anwar is for the veteran political leader to be truly sincere to the nation and to the people.

“He mustn’t have any hidden political agenda, he must brush all his ambitions aside.

“And Anwar must put the nation first, before anything else. That’s my expectation and I may say these things to him once he is out,” he said.

Khairuddin further describes himself as a person who simply likes to forgive and forget.

“It’s part of Islam to forgive. And the thing about politics is you won’t have permanent enemies and permanent peers, for anything can happen in politics,” he said.

Below is Khairuddin’s experience while being put in prison, in his own words.

How was it like behind prison bars?

This was my first experience behind bars. I do admit that it was not easy to be behind bars, but as what we are seeing that is happening on a daily basis, being behind bars is just peanuts. We are strong fighters. The prison is nothing to me. Of utmost importance is to pursue the struggle, seeking the truth till the end.

So you are ready to face another imprisonment?

Of course. I have no worries at all on that.

Did you feel a sense of fear?

In life, and in the struggle to seek the truth, there are things that you have to foresee; the circumstances that these things may happen to you; the risks you have to undertake. For me, I have calculated the risks, I have pursued with the noble cause to seek justice and the truth. When these things happened to me, I accepted them with an open heart.

I just want to extend my deepest appreciation to the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), because they took good care of me during my detention in the (Dang Wangi) lock-up. There was no special treatment and they were very professional. The same goes to the management and the authorities at Sungai Buloh Prison, who took good care of me.

And the backgrounds of your cellmates?

From murderers to drug dealers and even rapists. When I was in the medical block, at one time there were 10 to 15 patients in the hospital cell. It’s similar to a third-class ward at a hospital.

Did the other inmates know who you are?

That was what I felt a bit strange about. When I was in prison, there were no newspapers. They said to just go ahead with the struggle to seek the truth, and that they are behind me. They said that although they are behind bars, their hearts are with me.

Did they discuss the current affairs with you?

There were tremendous negative remarks on the current leadership in the country. But I don’t want to elaborate this in great depth, because I may be charged under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) again.

You said that you were treated well. But your lawyer, Matthias Chang, complained of the horrible conditions when he was imprisoned.

I don’t know, maybe that was his personal experience and I respect his personal opinion. We received the same treatment. But I am a plain kampung boy. To me, I’m already immune to such hardship.

Did you ever think that you could be imprisoned forever?

That was my belief, for under Sosma I can be imprisoned for a maximum of 15 years and anything can happen. But thank God, our judiciary system is quite okay and the verdict favoured us. We were released on bail, at least. Thank God for that.

This interview was jointly conducted by Alyaa Azhar and Adrian Wong.

Yesterday: Part I - I’ll die for Mahathir who never lies, declares Khairuddin