Anwar will be punished over APCO-Israel taunt, says Nazri
By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider
Despite Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) assertion of injustice against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s rumoured suspension from Parliament, the Najib administration still looks hell-bent on punishing the opposition leader for his APCO-Israel taunt against the government earlier this year.
The Malaysian Insider had learnt that the PR de facto leader would likely face suspension from Parliament next week when the Rights and Privileges Committee’s report is tabled at the close of the current session, which has been extended for a day to December 16.
It remains unknown for now however exactly what the powerful panel will decide to dish out to Anwar but sources had indicated that it was mulling a paid six-month suspension for the former deputy prime minister.
The report is expected to be tabled next Thursday by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz, who is also the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs.
When approached by The Malaysian Insider, Nazri agreed that Anwar would face censure for his sensitive accusation against the government in March this year.
The minister said he was confident it would be a fitting punishment for the former Umno leader, even predicting that the administration would end 2010 “with a bang”.
“We want to show them that we are not afraid to flex our muscles when we need to. There is definitely going to be a good decision by the panel and it will be a fair one,” he said.
Nazri added that in his personal opinion, Anwar should be punished with a six-month suspension at the very least to teach the fiery leader a lesson that no elected representative should be allowed to fling baseless allegations to hurt the administration.
“It is no different for any representative across the board. If you fail to prove your allegations, you must pay the price for it,” he said.
Anwar had caused an uproar in the House on March 17 when he sniped at the Najib administration, claiming that its image consultants APCO Worldwide were led by Israelis who worked on former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s campaign called “1 Israel”, similar to the Malaysian premier’s “1 Malaysia” concept.
His remark sparked off heated debates between backbenchers and dominated much of the March sitting as Barisan Nasional lawmakers angrily denied the allegation which had clearly pushed a sensitive point in a country opposed to the Zionist regime.
PR leaders had however capitalised on the issue and used it to beef up their election machinery during the Hulu Selangor and Sibu by-elections, staving off BN’s accusations that the opposition were Jewish tools.
A motion was later moved in Parliament to refer Anwar to the House’s committee and despite being given a one-week window to prove his jibe, the opposition leader had reportedly failed to do so.
Nazri also approved of the committee’s decision last week to adopt a motion during its meeting which ultimately barred Anwar from testifying before the panel.
The committee had passed the motion by way of majority vote, deciding that APCO’s letter to the panel on August 19 was sufficient evidence to warrant a decision against Anwar.
“He was given one week to respond to the issue but he did not.
“His allegation was made in Parliament and that happened a long time back so there is no reason why he couldn’t have explained his case in Parliament.
“Why should there be a need for him to stand before the committee when he could have used Parliament as his avenue to explain himself? It would just be double-work to have the committee call him forward when he could have spoken in Parliament earlier,” said Nazri.
He added that since Anwar had not taken the opportunity to explain himself, it was only apt for the committee to proceed with its decision.
Nazri however said the committee was yet to inform him of its recommendation for Anwar’s punishment.
