Anwar may face arrest tomorrow

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim could be arrested when he goes to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters tomorrow to have his statement recorded on the sodomy allegation against him.

At a press conference held at Anwar’s residence in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, his lawyer Sankara Nair said an arrest warrant has been issued for the opposition stalwart.

This was revealed in a letter from investigating officer DSP Jude Pereira which Sankara received at about 1pm.

The lawyer added that based on his conversation with Pereira, "Anwar is a suspect and may be arrested tomorrow." [See full letter below]

He said that a team of lawyers will be on standby to apply for bail if necessary.

Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is illegal in Malaysia and carries a penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment.

Earlier today, Federal CID director Mohd Bakri Zinin said Anwar should be present at the police headquarters by 2pm tomorrow or face action. He also did not rule out the possibility of arrest.

Sankara said this contravened the agreement made to have Anwar’s statement recorded at 2pm on Thursday.

"We are troubled by the threatening language from the CID and the unannounced change. Our client will cooperate and appear at 2pm tomorrow to give a statement.

"No reason has been given for this change and we are concerned that internal confusion within the law enforcement agencies may precipitate in harm coming to our client," he added.

Should Anwar be arrested...

Anwar was supposed to have gone to the police headquarters yesterday to have his statement recorded.

However, he refused to go claiming that the police acted unprofessionally by ‘intimidating and harassing’ his staff and family while attempting to serve an order under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code on Sunday.

PKR has warned that its supporters would hold mass demonstrations if Anwar is taken into custody.

"It is surprising that they have resorted to such actions. If they arrest Anwar, we will have no choice but to take to the streets," said party information chief Tian Chua.

Massive demonstrations erupted after Anwar's arrest on sodomy and corruption charges a decade ago, in a reformasi movement that continues to reverberate in Malaysian politics to this day.

Should Anwar be arrested, the police will need to go to court within 24 hours to argue they need to remand him further to assist in their investigation.

The court can allow the police up to 14 days to detain Anwar for questioning, after which they will have to charge him.

According to Sankara, sodomy is a non-bailable offence but usually the court will grant bail.

However, in 1998 when Anwar was arrested on similar charges, he was not granted bail as the prosecution had successfully argued that he could tamper with witnesses.

Statement to ACA tomorrow too

Sankara also revealed that Anwar will give a statement to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) pertaining to the police report filed regarding the alleged suppression of material facts in the politician’s cases in 1998.

Last week, the ACA quizzed inspector-general of police Musa Hassan and attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail over this.

In his report, Anwar accused the duo of allegedly fabricating evidence in his corruption and sodomy trials 10 years ago. At that time, Musa was the investigating officer while Gani was the chief prosecutor.

Meanwhile, Sankara also said that they have yet to be given a copy of the June 28 police report lodged by Anwar’s 23-year-old former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan who accused the politician of sodomising him.

"We reiterate that until our client has yet to be provided with the police report that has been filed against him despite multiple requests that have been made to obtain it," he said.

Anwar claims that the charge was fabricated by the government to prevent the opposition from seizing power, but government leaders have denied this.

However, Bakri dismissed Anwar's charges that the sodomy accusations are aimed at undermining his plan to form a new government with the help of defecting lawmakers from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling coalition.

"This is the perception. He has a right to say this, I'm not a politician I'm a police officer, I go on facts," he said.

The press conference was held in the garden of Anwar's house in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur. However, Anwar was not present.

According to Sankara, the opposition leader was busy preparing for his 'fuel price hike' debate against Information Ministry Shabery Cheek tonight which will be carried live on TV.

Watch a 9-min video of Sankara Nair's press conference