Penang ulama: Anwar need not swear on Quran

By ZULKIFLY MOHAMAD, thestar.com.my

BUTTERWORTH: Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim need not swear in the name of Allah as the Syariah Court is the best place for him to prove his innocence.

The Penang branch of the National Ulama Association’s chairman Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Nor said the basic principles of Islamic law should be followed by producing four witnesses to testify in Anwar’s sodomy allegations.

“If the accuser fails to bring four witnesses as required by the hudud law, then the case should be dropped,” he told a press conference Tuesday at the Sunway Business Centre in Seberang Jaya, here.

Dr Wan Salim said if under certain circumstances the four witnesses could not be produced in the Syariah Court, the prosecutor could use DNA evidence to prove the case but such evidence was not solid.

19-08-2008: Anwar questions Ezam’s intentions

by Pauline Puah, theedgedaily.com

SEBERANG PRAI: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim questioned his former aide Ezam Mohd Noor’s intention in claiming that Anwar had been keeping the six boxes of government documents allegedly related to corrupt practices of high-ranking government officers and ministers.

“After saying 10 years ago that he was in possession (of the documents), now during the Permatang Pauh by-election he said he has surrendered them to me. Do you take him seriously?” Anwar said during a visit to Seberang Jaya market yesterday.

Ezam, the former PKR Youth chief who has rejoined Umno, said at a ceramah on Saturday night that he had passed the documents to Anwar and challenged his former boss to make public the documents.

On another claim by Ezam that Anwar had handed out projects worth RM1 billion each to 15 bumiputera companies when he was deputy premier and finance minister, Anwar said Ezam should identify the beneficiaries of the projects and report the matter to relevant authorities.

“He is desperate to get the attention of Umno leaders, so I am not going to entertain him,” Anwar said
[more]

Anwar: Name my ‘cronies’

Thestar.com.my

BUTTERWORTH: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has challenged his detractors to name the people who allegedly benefited from his position when he was deputy prime minister and finance minister.

“There was no such thing. If you know of the people who benefited, you should identify them. Do not just make claims,” he said.

The PKR leader, who is contesting the Permatang Pauh by-election, was asked to comment on his involvement in bumiputra policies when he was in the Federal Government and the award of projects without tenders.

Speaking to reporters during a break from his morning campaign yesterday, Anwar said bumiputra youths did not have any problem embracing a multiracial philosophy.
[more]

Dewan Rakyat: Govt tables DNA bill

The New Straits Times Online
By : V. Vasudevan and Eileen Ng

The government has tabled the long awaited Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Identification Bill 2008, and it is expected to be debated and passed at the current meeting.

Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar quickly quashed any talk that the bill was politicallly motivated.

He said it had nothing do with the current sodomy charge being faced by de factor opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Suspects have to give their DNA samples compulsorily,” said Syed Hamid in the lobby after tabling the bill for first reading yesterday.

“It is not politically motivated and has nothing to do with Anwar Ibrahim. The government has been working on this bill since 2001. It is ridiculous to attribute it to political motives,” he said.

Syed Hamid said the bill is not targeted specifically at any individual but to record the DNA of every person who is charged in court or arrested. He said the bill covered the extraction of DNA under all crimes covered by the Penal Code.

“There is no law at present on this aspect. What we are doing is introducing a law to regulate and govern the taking of DNA. I don’t think they (the opposition) should attribute a sinister motive to it. If there is a case in court and you are not guilty why should you worry about this bill,” he said.

Malaysia’s PM backs Anwar accuser after mosque ’stunt’

2 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Malaysia’s premier has backed the young man accusing opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy, after the man visited a mosque to swear to his claims in an act criticised as a political stunt.

Anwar has said the allegations made by Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old former aide, have been engineered by the government to prevent him from seizing power after landmark March elections.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hit out at criticism of Mohamad Saiful after he was photographed last week at a city mosque, swearing on the Koran that he was telling the truth.

“According to Islam, an individual seeking justice should be respected, even though it may be a personal issue,” the premier said, according to the New Straits Times Monday.

“There are those who question his method and whether he is following the right procedure but in his heart he must have a clear intention,” Abdullah said.

“The incident must have been traumatic, otherwise he would not have lodged the police report.” [more]

Anwar: Don’t make a mockery of Quran

Thestar.com.my
By ZARINAH DAUD

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Taking an oath on the Quran does not absolve a person of his sin and a Muslim should not make a mockery of the holy book by swearing on it.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he decided to take the alleged sodomy case to Syariah Court because his honour and dignity were at stake.

“Please do not make a mockery of the holy book. Can you absolve your sin by swearing on the Quran?

“If you respect the law and the dignity of a man, do not use the Quran for political mileage,” he said Sunday during a press conference at Yayasan Aman here. [more]

Anwar: All races should be given equal opportunities

Thestar.com.my

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Students who have the potential to excel in their studies should be given equal opportunities to pursue tertiary education, said PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

All students, regardless of race, should have the chance to “rise to the occasion” and fulfil their potential, he stressed.

Anwar also touched on the suggestion by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim that 10% of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) intake be open to non-Malay and foreign students.

“Khalid was only talking about opening one or two courses to non-bumiputras. But Umno views it as selling off UiTM to the Chinese,” he said at a dinner with Chinese voters in Sungai Lembu near here last night. [more]

After two months of foot dragging by the authorities, Anwar receives copy of Saiful’s police report

Thestar.com.my
By NURBAITI HAMDAN

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s lawyer Sankara Nair has confirmed receiving a copy of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s police report after two months from the date it was lodged.

Sankara said the report was received on Friday about 5pm from the police.

However, he declined to comment further on the details of the report.

“We will not be able to comment on that yet until the legal team meets,” he said when contacted Sunday.

Constant Media Bashing Might Have Prompted Aggression In Supporters – Anwar

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 17 (Bernama) — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s constant bashing of the mainstream media during political campaigns might have aggravated his supporters into behaving aggressively against media personnel.

Admitting that this might have been the reason which led his supporters to turn unruly towards the media, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser said:

“I agree…I will do (the explanation to the public that the attack was only on media policies and not on media personnel) from tonight.

“It is never our intention to question or harm reporters or (members of) the media.”

Speaking at a press conference at the PKR media centre in Yayasan Aman, Kubang Semang near here today, Anwar said his criticism of the mainstream media “should not be construed as personal attacks” against media personnel but the policy of the (their) companies.

“You are right to question (me) to remind our friends and supporters, (but) our position is that we don’t want unbiased, malicious and vicious (reporting) in the midst of election,” he said in response to questions on yesterday’s attack of two media photographers, including a foreign photographer, by a group of men wearing vests and t-shirts with the party emblem on it. [more]

Saiful’s Swearing on the Qur’an Was For Show, and Was Not Required in Islam

www.sindhtoday.net

[...] Why is Saiful making the declaration on the eve of Nomination Day?’ asked Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Ibrahim’s wife who facilitated the by-election by resigning her seat last month.

Azlan’s act of placing his hand on the holy book while swearing his accusation has acquired religious overtones, and has also raised objections. Ismail called it ‘a desperate act’.

The act was termed ‘un-Islamic’ by Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who is the spiritual advisor on the opposition Pan Islamic party.

He said there was no requirement in the Quran that called on Muslims to hold the holy book while making a solemn declaration.

‘It is normal for Christians to swear on the Holy Bible. It seems that he wanted to follow the Christian way of doing it.

‘In Islam, it is enough to say the three holy words – wallahi, wabillahi, watallahi. There is no need to hold the Quran,’ said Nik Mat.

Taking a legal view, Democratic Action Party’s Indian origin chairman Karpal Singh said Azlan’s swearing was ’something not right to do’ because the matter was pending in court. [more]