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PKR secretary-general Salehuddin Hashim today issued a point-by-point
rebuttal of Jerlun MP Mukhriz Mahathir’s scathing speech accusing
Anwar Ibrahim of anti-Islamic involvement.
During his maiden speech in Parliament on
Tuesday, Mukhriz alluded that:
• Anwar was “in cahoots” with “Iraqi mass murderer” Paul Wolfowitz, as
the latter had penned an article in an issue of Time magazine
which named the former as one of the world’s 100 influential leaders
for 2008
• A Jerusalem Post article mooted Anwar as Malaysia’s future
prime minister and that “this proves Israel agrees with the idea of
Anwar becoming prime minister”
• An international organisation chaired by Anwar, Foundation of the
Future, received US35 million from the United states, among others
On the Time magazine article, Salehuddin said that the choice
of the author was an independent decision made by the organisation and
that Mukhriz had “conveniently” failed to note a significant passage
in Wolfowitz article.
Wolfowitz, well known for his friendship with Anwar, had wrote that
the latter had in 2004 been “harshly critical” of the US policy on
Iraq and did not break ties despite the disagreement.
“By not burning bridges only speaks of his statesmanship, as clearly,
blindly severing ties would not have helped to stop the war or
contribute towards any hope for peace in the future,” said Salehuddin
in a statement today.
Israel link
On
Mukhriz’s attempt to link the Jerusalem Post article to
Anwar’s alleged ties with Israel, Salehuddin said that the accusation
“borders on ridiculous”.
“If Mukhriz can prove that the Jerusalem Post was the only
newspaper in the entire world to speculate that Anwar may well be the
next prime minister, then perhaps his accusations may actually hold
some water.
“The truth is that the media in the rest of the world does not come
under the control of Barisan Nasional, unlike the media in Malaysia,”
he said.
Salehuddin however did not dispute Mukhriz's
assertion that the Foundation for the Future
accepted money from the US, but criticised the latter for failing to
take note of how the money was channeled to Muslim countries.
According to the list supplied by Salehuddin, the organisation had
channeled funds into civil society efforts in Jordan, Yemen,
Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt.
Salehuddin said the facts showed that there were nothing suspicious of
Anwar’s involvement and accused Mukriz of jealousy and having
misguided conceptions.
Diversion attempt
Instead, Salehuddin said Mukhriz should have been proud that Anwar
chairs a foundation consisting of prominent international
personalities and was the first Malaysian to be included in the
Time magazine list.
“There
is clearly nothing suspicious in Dato' Seri Anwar's involvements and
working relationships. Sadly, the same cannot be said for those close
to Mukhriz,” said Salehuddin.
He said that Malaysians would have to “bear the shame” that Mahathir,
during his tenure as prime minister, was exposed to have paid RM4.6
million to American lobbyist Jack Ambramoff to
secure a meeting with President George Bush.
Describing Abramoff as a “staunch pro-Zionist American lobbyist”,
Salehuddin questioned Mahathir’s association with the lobbyist who had
pleaded guilty in 2006 of corruption.
“We note that Anwar has no need to pay anyone in order to be invited
by global leaders and heads of state, and are proud of his standing
internationally, especially in the Islamic world, where his views as a
statesman and a scholar are held in extremely high regard.
“Mukhriz's attacks are clearly a desperate attempt to deflect public
attention from the royal commission report that implicates his
father's abuse of power and systematic destruction of the integrity of
our judiciary.
“We invite all to objectively scrutinise Anwar's record as an
exemplary Malaysian, Muslim and Malay leader who has invariably and
consistently stood for what is right, and what is just - for Malays,
Muslims, Malaysians, and for every human being,” Salehuddin added.
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