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KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has denied being involved in the fresh sodomy charge against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and to sabotage the PKR adviser’s attempt to return to Parliament.
“How can I insist that he be charged? If there is no evidence the police are not stupid to charge him,” the Prime Minster said when commenting on Anwar’s accusation that he (Abdullah) had planned the sodomy charge.
Abdullah dismissed Anwar’s claim that the charge was an attempt to deflect public’s attention from the Government’s problems.
“The Government’s problem is a huge problem and this one is not going to deflect other kind of problems we are having at the moment. I don’t see that,” he told reporters after chairing the Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting yesterday.
He said he had never given the police the impression that he wanted Anwar to be charged.
“I am not one to ask people to charge (other people). I did say that if you have something to charge and you have evidence then charge. If you don’t have evidence then drop the charge, drop the whole thing and the investigation.
“So that is up to them to see and decide on the basis of their investigation whether there is enough evidence to charge or not,” the prime minister said.
Abdullah also said that if the police had enough evidence, they were duty bound to charge Anwar because they had to protect the rights of Anwar’s accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
“Don’t forget that there is another person, Saiful. You seem to forget Saiful and you think Anwar is more important. This is the issue of the law,” he said.
On Anwar’s claim that the charge was meant to sabotage his election campaign due to its timing which coincided with the Election Commission’s announcement of the Permatang Pauh by-election date, Abdullah said that he was not the one who announced the date and he did not ask for the charge to coincide with it.
“But the story of the charge against him is not new and emerged even before (Anwar’s wife and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr) Wan Azizah (Ismail) resigned (as Permatang Pauh MP),” he said.
On whether Saiful would also be charged if he was a willing partner, he said:
“You better read your law. If there is rape the accused will have to face action. This is a matter for the law. But I am not lawyer and I won’t get involved. We’ll see what happens in court.”
Asked about possible street demonstrations, he said: “Anwar should tell them not to resort to demonstrate.”
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has denied being involved in the fresh sodomy charge against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and to sabotage the PKR adviser’s attempt to return to Parliament.
“How can I insist that he be charged? If there is no evidence the police are not stupid to charge him,” the Prime Minster said when commenting on Anwar’s accusation that he (Abdullah) had planned the sodomy charge.
Abdullah dismissed Anwar’s claim that the charge was an attempt to deflect public’s attention from the Government’s problems.
“The Government’s problem is a huge problem and this one is not going to deflect other kind of problems we are having at the moment. I don’t see that,” he told reporters after chairing the Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting yesterday.
He said he had never given the police the impression that he wanted Anwar to be charged.
“I am not one to ask people to charge (other people). I did say that if you have something to charge and you have evidence then charge. If you don’t have evidence then drop the charge, drop the whole thing and the investigation.
“So that is up to them to see and decide on the basis of their investigation whether there is enough evidence to charge or not,” the prime minister said.
Abdullah also said that if the police had enough evidence, they were duty bound to charge Anwar because they had to protect the rights of Anwar’s accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
“Don’t forget that there is another person, Saiful. You seem to forget Saiful and you think Anwar is more important. This is the issue of the law,” he said.
On Anwar’s claim that the charge was meant to sabotage his election campaign due to its timing which coincided with the Election Commission’s announcement of the Permatang Pauh by-election date, Abdullah said that he was not the one who announced the date and he did not ask for the charge to coincide with it.
“But the story of the charge against him is not new and emerged even before (Anwar’s wife and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr) Wan Azizah (Ismail) resigned (as Permatang Pauh MP),” he said.
On whether Saiful would also be charged if he was a willing partner, he said:
“You better read your law. If there is rape the accused will have to face action. This is a matter for the law. But I am not lawyer and I won’t get involved. We’ll see what happens in court.”
Asked about possible street demonstrations, he said: “Anwar should tell them not to resort to demonstrate.”
