Barely 48 hours after being released from police custody, Anwar Ibrahim is back on the road again to continue his whirlwind tour throughout the country.

His first stop last night was around 9.30pm at Cheng, Malacca where he enthralled a Chinese-majority crowd of about 3,000 for nearly 40 minutes with his trademark flair and wit.

anwar jasin ceramah 180708 anwar There was little new material to his repertoire but Anwar focused on casting doubts on investigation of the sodomy allegations and stoking public anger at the government's decision to raise fuel prices.

“My appointment was at 2pm, but at 1pm, they ambushed me and arrested me as though I was Osama bin Laden,” said Anwar, prompting laughter throughout.

In his speech, Anwar repeatedly stressed on his ‘ordeal’ during the arrest such as sleeping on the concrete floor and how he was stripped and almost photographed naked during a medical examination.

“When I refused to be photographed, they said I was not cooperative. Well, when we take over and arrest Najib, let's see if he is willing to be photographed,” he said.

‘Blood hungry’

Anwar also repeatedly cast aspersions on police investigations into the sodomy allegations and that the manipulation of the police report against him was highly plausible.

The former deputy premier said that during the police interrogation, he had given a minute-by-minute account of his whereabouts and relevant witnesses to the police.

He told the crowd that from his alibi, there would be no case against him but worried that should he give a blood sample for DNA testing, it would be tampered with.

“And that’s why they want my blood. The minister wants blood. The police wants blood... I’m not afraid to give blood. I’m only afraid that they play foul,” he added.

Anwar summed up that the sodomy allegations were undertaken to stall his return to parliament and Pakatan Rakyat’s road to Putrajaya.

“They know that should they not come up with these allegations, I would have contested in a by-election by now,” he said.

Defection claim

He said that he had chosen a suitable constituency for the by-election and it would be timed together with the defection of four Barisan Nasional MPs - two from Peninsula Malaysia and two from Sabah and Sarawak.

“I can’t name them yet. Once they announce their defection, I would announce my candidacy for a by-election,” he said.

anwar jasin ceramah 180708 crowd Anwar is speculated to contest in Kulim Bandar Baharu seat currently held by PKR’s Zulkifli Noordin, should the latter be disqualified as an MP in a election petition filed by the losing candidate Abdul Aziz Shiek Fadzir.

Anwar’s second and last stop for the night was about 30km away in Kampung Kesang Tua, Jasin where he addressed a crowd of about 4,000 people on a small soggy field.

This time, Anwar used adopted a more polished Bahasa Melayu to address the Malay majority crowd, of which many came prepared with picnic mats.

As with his ceramah in Cheng, Anwar spoke at length to defend himself from sodomy allegations and soaring fuel prices.

He also repeated his claim that large sums of foreign funds, particularly from Saudi Arabia, are on hold because investors are waiting for Pakatan Rakyat to take over the federal government.

Anwar would be speaking at another ceramah in Kuantan tonight and in Batu Pahat tomorrow night.

Watch a 9-min video of the ceramah , presenting part 1 of a 4 part video in Malaysiakini.tv. We'll be providing the YouTube.com links to the other 3 parts in Malaysiakini.tv as they are uploaded.