(Left to right) Shuib, Abdul Rahim, and Shazryl smile as they arrive at the magistrate’s court in Kuala Lumpur, June 24, 2011. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim shrugged off today’s revelation in court that US experts had pointed him out as the man in a recent sex video, maintaining that the entire case was a conspiracy by political adversaries.
The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader was a picture of calm when approached by reporters asking for his next course of action, at the sidelines of an economic talk at the Quality Hotel here,
Shrugging, Anwar said he had anticipated the outcome of today’s court proceedings, claiming to be unaffected by it.
“I think it is all pre-arranged. The prosecution would, as you know, ensure they get a light sentence and then they would of course try and use this to make inferences.
“I’ve declared very clearly my innocence so they can use whatever they want, quoting some sources... first they say it was somebody from Korea and now they say it was somebody from the US. They can say whatever. It is just a political attempt to smear me,” he said.
Anwar also claimed that several acquaintances had confirmed with him yesterday that Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik, one of the key protagonists behind the sex video, had met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament yesterday.
“We use the same lift. Quite a number of them spotted him so they cannot deny. We know for a fact that Abdul Rahim was at the PM’s office in Parliament at 11.45am,” he said
According to Anwar, Abdul Rahim’s meeting with Najib clearly indicated that today’s court proceedings had been planned in advance, and likely handled by the Attorney-General himself.
“That is why I am not even affected by it. This is only a show, to charge them. What is Abdul Rahim’s deal with Najib? This has to be explained,” he said.
Former Malacca chief minister Abdul Rahim, along with businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and former Perkasa treasurer-general Datuk Shuib Lazim, all of whom make up the “Datuk T” trio, were fined this morning for their involvement in the screening of the sex video at Carcosa Seri Negara Hotel on March 21.
Abdul Rahim was hit with a RM1,000 fine for abetting Shazryl and Shuib, who were fined RM3,000 and RM1,500 respectively.
When asked if he planned on taking action against the trio, Anwar shrugged again and pointed out that he had already lodged a police report on the matter.
“I’ve lodged a report but what action was taken? We all know too well the system that we have here. The only reason why I had to lodge the report although I knew the limitation of the system was because if I didn’t, then they would take that to mean guilt,” he said.
Anwar also admitted that he may now be accused of lodging a false report but said that he would deal with it when it occurs.
He expressed confidence that his supporters would not be swayed by today’s events, adding that most Malaysians were now fully aware of the system.
“And since when do we infer that the authority of morality is left to Abdul Rahim, Shazryl, Shuib or (lawyer Datuk Seri) Shafee Abdullah?” he said.
Shafee had said today that according to a study by experts from the Dartmouth College in the US, it was 99.99 per cent certain that the man in the video is Anwar.
