The police's reason for arresting opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim an hour earlier before his 2pm deadline fails to convince former United Nations special rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy.

param cumaraswamy In a statement today, Param took a swipe at Federal CID director Mohd Bakri Zinin and Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar over the imbroglio.

He pointed out that Anwar did not have an agreement with the police that he would go to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters immediately after leaving the Anti-Corruption Agency office in Putrajaya yesterday.

"Neither was there any agreement that he should take a particular route from Putrajaya to the police headquarters," he added.

In view of this, Param described the reasons given by Bakri for the early arrest as nothing short of incredible.

mohd bakri zinin Bakri said the police had 'reason to believe' that Anwar was not going to show up because he was supposed to get to the police headquarters immediately after giving his statement to the ACA.

Instead, he added, Anwar changed his route and went instead to his house in Bukit Segambut.

Param said the agreement with Bakri was for Anwar to show up by 2pm to record his statement concerning a sodomy allegation against him.

However, the politician was arrested by a police team - which included balaclava donning personnel - close to his house at about 1pm.

'Just beyond belief'

anwar arrest sequence 170708 Param said he had accompanied Anwar together with two lawyers Sankara Nair and R Sivarasa to the ACA office yesterday morning.

"We arrived at the ACA (office) at 10am. The two lawyers and I were with Anwar when his statement was recorded by the ACA.

"At about 11.45am, Anwar informed the officers that he had a 2pm appointment at the police headquarters and asked to be excused and agreed to appear again at another date to continue for his statement to be recorded," he said.

"The officer recorded this request in writing. We left Putrajaya at about 12pm. Anwar was to drop me at the Selangor Club, Mont Kiara. The lawyers were to accompany him to the police headquarters for the 2pm appointment.

"I was dropped off at about 12.40pm. There was ample time for Anwar to go to his home, which was not far from Mont Kiara, and get to the police headquarters by 2pm.

"I then had a call about 1.00pm that Anwar was arrested near his house by a contingent of police officers. I was shocked," he added.

Param said in light of these facts how Bakri came to the conclusion that he had reason to believe Anwar was not going to show up because he changed his route was "just beyond belief".

"If he relied on intelligence then the same police intelligence is seriously flawed which should be a serious concern to all Malaysians," he said.

"The inspector-general of police, Musa Hassan, is reported to have supported Bakri’s conduct. He was reported to have said that 'the police knew what they are doing…' Did they really know?"

Minister rapped

Param also took a swipe at Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar for condoning the police’s action by saying, 'It doesn't matter when they arrested as they needed to have his statement…'

syed hamid albar "Obviously the minister had no regard for the integrity of the conduct of police officers when carrying out investigations," he said.

According to Param, the minister's comments were akin to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s ‘reckless’ public statement on Sept 30, 1998 that Anwar's 'black-eye' injuries could have been self-inflicted.

"Bakri's conduct yesterday will be seen as a dangerous trend in how recklessly police could arrest someone on the basis of 'reason to believe' without caring for the truth or falsity of the reason for belief.

"His conduct was reprehensible and should not be glossed over. It warrants investigation as such conduct brings disrepute to the Royal Malaysian Police," he added.

He said the events yesterday and the massive jams in Kuala Lumpur three days ago with 1,600 policemen deployed on the streets of Kuala Lumpur and vicinity and with the Parliament House cordoned off with barbed wire portrayed Malaysia as being a police state.

"These events once again illustrate the urgent need for the government to implement the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Police and establish an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) without delay," he added.