WEDNESDAY-2 JULY 2008- ANWAR'S TACTIC TO WIN PEOPLE'S SYMPATHY WON'T WORK, SAYS HISHAMMUDDIN

Anwar’s tactic to win people’s sympathy won’t work, says Hishammuddin

KUALA LUMPUR:

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s strategy to gain the people’s sympathy by claiming that he is the victim of a political conspiracy and that his life is in danger, will not work, says Umno Youth Chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. “The political scenario today is very different from that in 1998, and so it is difficult to win public sympathy with that kind of tactic of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Adviser. “What he has raised with regards to his safety is baseless and ridiculous. The people should be able to see the sincerity, transparency, openness and tolerance shown by the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi). So, Anwar’s claims are totally unacceptable. “Prior to this, he (Anwar) was free to move about as there were no restrictions and his safety was ensured,” Hishammuddin told reporters at the parliament lobby here yesterday. He was commenting on Anwar’s claim that his safety was under threat until he had to seek refuge for one day at the Turkish Ambassador’s residence here. Hishammuddin said the people could see for themselves the transparency and openness of Abdullah’s administration, which was contrary to Anwar’s claim that the Government had evil intentions towards him. He said Umno Youth hoped for a transparent and fair investigation (into the sodomy allegation against Anwar) and his claims to find out the truth. After seeking refuge at the Turkish Ambassador’s home on Sunday, Anwar left the residence on Monday following assurances on his safety by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim. -Bernama