By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
KUALA LUMPUR: The PAS leadership today avoided answering questions on the WikiLeaks expose claiming Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had sex with a male aide in a honey trap set by political rivals.
PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar instead diverted the attention to the Home Ministry, saying the onus was on them to explain how foreign intelligence had gathered the information.
"The cable also mentioned (Prime Minister) Najib Tun Razak with regards to the murder of Altantuya (Shaaribuu)," he told a press conference at Parliament lobby.
"I believe the Home Minister must explain how this information was gathered and also explain on the expose on Najib," he added.
WikiLeaks, through a release of a US state department cable issued in November 2008, revealed exchanges between the Singaporean intelligence services and an Australian agency.
It stated: ''The Australians said that Singapore's intelligences services and [Singaporean elder statesman] Lee Kuan Yew have told ONA in their exchanges that opposition leader Anwar 'did indeed commit the acts for which he is currently indicted'.'
ONA stands for Australia’s Office of National Assessments.
The cable was exclusively released to Australian daily The Sun-Herald and widely reported by other Australian newspapers on Sunday.
'Merely personal views'
Shah Alam MP and PAS central working committee member Khalid Samad said the cable contained "personal views" of the agencies.
"You do understand that the cables are just personal views and they are merely communiques without any evidence," he told the same press conference.
Anwar has so far dodged the media radar, responding to the expose only through his micro-blogging Twitter account and blamed the Malaysian Special Branch as the source:
It is still too early to assess the impact of the cable revelation but some political observers note the negative repercussion it may have on Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat.
However, government sources say Najib and leaders in Barisan Nasional are not too keen in capitalising the cable leakages given they are implicated as well.
Anwar is presently facing his second sodomy charge after being convinced and jailed in 1999 on charges of corruption and sodomy after a falling out with then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The sodomy conviction was later overturned and was freed from jail in 2004.
He was however charged again in 2008 with committing sodomy on his former aide. Anwar has maintained the case against him was fabricated and trumped up by his political enemies who fear his political resurgence.
The trial in presently underway.
Dr M: Lee knows, others pretending
However former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the (opposition) political parties were pretending not to be aware of Anwar's alleged sodomy activities.
He also said that he believed Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has knowledge of the alleged activities.
"Yes, indeed. I think he (Lee) knows but the political parties are pretending they do not know about it," he told reporters after delivering a talk on "Globalising Malaysians in 2020" at the Tenaga Nasional University, here.
He was commenting to reports that the Singapore intelligence agency had confirmed the activities of the Opposition Leader on the basis of "technical intelligence".
Also read:
Singapore says cable leaks won't hurt ties
Anwar acts to stem WikiLeak effect on sodomy case
