Lawyers deny Anwar's claim of 'bankers, Zionists' plot in Daim family PR plan

Lawyers representing Na’imah Abdul Khalid have denied allegations by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that her family's public relations plan involved “bankers” and “Zionists” in a purported attempt to sabotage the country.

Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh described Anwar’s remarks in Parliament as “false, preposterous, (and) outrageous”, further accusing the premier of deliberately misleading the Dewan Rakyat and the public.

In a statement today, the lawyers said the communications plan prepared in August last year was a standard crisis-management strategy due to ongoing investigations by the MACC against former finance minister Daim Zainuddin’s family.

They said bankers were mentioned only twice in the plan, within the context of assuring bankers that the MACC's investigation did not affect Na'imah's creditworthiness.

"Anwar’s claim that Zionists are involved is even more ridiculous. There is not one word about Zionism or Israel or anything related to it in the entire communications plan," they said.

Earlier today, Anwar floated the possibility that Na'imah's family's plan could be linked to “prominent Zionist groups”.

He was referring to a leaked 13-page document understood to be a “communications plan”, which was allegedly prepared as part of Daim’s family’s efforts to preserve his reputation amid legal action by the MACC.

The plan, designed to run over two years up to the next general election, outlined a strategy which seemingly seeks to undermine the government's narrative by framing legal proceedings against Daim and his family as a politically motivated attack, rather than a legitimate anti-corruption effort.

In a section regarding “background briefings with key international media”, the document stated that such moves are being prepared to “help shape their perspective on Malaysia/influence their editorialising”.

Among the media agencies named in the plan’s “target list” are the BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, The Times, and the New York Times.

Act against PM

Commenting further, Rajesh and Sachpreetraj warned that while statements made in Parliament are protected by parliamentary immunity, any repetition of what they described as defamatory claims outside the House could prompt legal action.

They further called the Dewan Rakyat to take action against Anwar for allegedly misleading Parliament, saying his role as the prime minister aggravated the issue.

Besides that, they questioned Anwar's "double standards", noting that he had been reported to have engaged a firm in the United States to exert pressure on then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Yesterday, MalaysiaNow reported that email correspondence dating back to 2016 involving senior PKR leaders depicted the party’s alleged collaboration with foreign parties, including a Washington-based law firm and political consultancy.

The collaboration is said to have been aimed at not only clearing Anwar’s name as he served his prison sentence for sodomy but also finding ways to persuade the White House to build political pressure against Najib’s government, which was then plagued by the 1MDB global financial scandal.

While the report named Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, and PKR legal bureau chief Sivarasa Rasiah as those who had received emails from a lawyer linked to the US entity, MalaysiaNow did not disclose if the party leaders had responded to such communications.

Malaysiakini has contacted both PKR leaders for their comments on the matter.

Sivarasa, in his response, said there were emails in 2016 between him and other PKR leaders and Perseus Strategies boss Jared Genser.

However, he stressed that lobbying for the release of political detainees was normal and "perfectly acceptable".

He said at the time of the emails, Anwar's detention on a second sodomy charge had already been referred to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions.

Alleged plot to topple govt

Last week, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail said police are probing an alleged plot to exert pressure on Anwar and MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki.

According to Khalid, the plot involved an "influential individual" utilising international media outlets, with the case being probed under Section 124B of the Penal Code, which criminalises activities deemed detrimental to parliamentary democracy and carries a jail term of up to 20 years.

Nai'mah has since denied any attempt to topple the government.

She also rejected claims that she was involved in Bloomberg’s exposé, alleging that MACC officers had colluded with private individuals to strong-arm business rivals and stage corporate takeovers, with Azam allegedly aware of the collusion and having acted in support of such acts.

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