Jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had intended to mend ties between his family and former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had sent him to jail for the first time in 1998 over a corruption charge.

Former Umno Batu Kawan deputy division chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan made the claim during a town hall session at the Petaling Jaya Community Centre last night.

Anwar is currently serving a five-year sentence at Sungai Buloh prison for a sodomy charge, and Khairuddin said they had a 10-minute encounter during his own brief time in jail over an alleged attempt to sabotage the economy.

"Din, between you and me there is no animosity. When you get out, please try and find a way to mend ties between our family," Khairuddin quoted Anwar saying.

Khairuddin, who is Anwar's cousin, is also known as a loyal ally to Mahathir.

Following his release, Khairuddin said he had first met with Anwar's brother to deliver the message.

"I tried my best to bring Anwar's family to meet (Mahathir).

"Mahathir had agreed to the meeting, but in the end, it did not happen," he said.

When Anwar's father passed away last April, Khairuddin said Mahathir had made it a point to visit and pay his last respects.

Wan Azizah 'still emotional'

Khairuddin added the proposed meeting has yet to happen because Anwar's wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is still "emotional" about the situation.

Khairuddin shared this during the meeting to urge Citizens' Declaration critics to emulate Anwar's willingness to forgive Mahathir and move forward with their aim to ‘Save Malaysia’.

Anwar, who appeared as his own defence at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday, reportedly told Channel News Asia that he harbours no personal vendetta against Mahathir or Najib.

The PKR de facto leader also said his battle now is about institutional reforms, and he had forgiven both the leaders a long time ago.

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