Anwar takes Sodomy II to Manek Urai

(The Malaysian Insider) KUALA KRAI, June 22 — With less than two weeks to go before the start of his sodomy trial, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim brought the case to the attention of the Manek Urai voters last night.

The campaign period for the Manek Urai by-election near here will coincide with his second sodomy trial in a decade. This time he is accused of sodomising his former aide Saiful Azlan Bukhari.

Speaking before thousands of people in Kampung Laloh, some 100km south of Kota Baru, he said: “Pusrawi did an examination at 3pm, and it found no sign of penetration and no wound. He was brought to Kuala Lumpur Hospital, examined by three specialists, results were the same, no penetration and no wound.”

“I didn't ask for the reports, but the police and the Attorney-General did,” said Anwar who has filed an application to throw out the case based on the two reports.

He also asked Barisan Nasional (BN) to skip the Manek Urai by-election. The ruling coalition did not contest the Penanti by-election last month, saying that it wanted to focus on the economy.

“Have they solved the economic problems? I ask them to think carefully before contesting in Manek Urai,” he said.

“If they are sincere, just bring in development projects to Manek Urai but let PAS win uncontested,” added Anwar.

He also told the all-Malay crowd that the government's attempt to make it compulsory for students to pass English at the school leaving exam would victimise them.

“They should do it gradually, make sure there are enough teachers and everyone else is equipped,” he added.

The Manek Urai by-election was called following the death of five-term Kelantan state lawmaker Ismail Yaacob last month.

Ismail first won the seat in 1986. In last year’s general election, he defeated Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Zulkepli Omar by 1,352 votes.

Ismail did not contest the 2004 election when Zulkepli won by 53 votes.

Manek Urai, which is about a two-hour drive from Kota Baru, comprises an electorate that is almost exclusively Malay, with other races making up less than one per cent of the 12,292 voters.

A largely forested area, Manek Urai is one of the four state seats in the Kuala Krai parliamentary constituency. The other three are Mengkebang, Guchil and Dabong.

Nomination is set for July 6 while polling will be held on July 14.