WikiLeaks can be double-edge sword for Najib
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid, Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: PKR lawmakers warned Barisan Nasional against exploiting the WikiLeaks exposé which claims that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had sex with a male aide in a honey trap set up by his political rivals.
The PKR leaders, led by Teluk Kemang MP Kamarul Baharin Abbas, were responding to the front-page coverage on the exposé by Umno’s mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia.
Kamarul Baharin said that Utusan had malicious intention, adding that it was selective in its coverage by refusing to highlight the US diplomatic cable which implicated Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
“If Utusan is an ethical newspaper, it should have given wide coverage to reports by Australian newspapers that based on the leaked cables, Singapore diplomats believe the prime minister faces political risk for his involvement in the murder scandal,” he said.
One of the leaked cables by the whistle-blower site WikiLeaks revealed that Singaporean politicians believe Najib is in a predicament over allegations of his involvement in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaaribuu.
“But this is the journalism ala Utusan with the motive to deceive the people to defend the regime which owns it,” Kamarul Baharin said.
Where’s the evidence?
WikiLeaks, through a release of a US state department cable issued in November 2008, revealed the exchanges made between the Singaporean intelligence services and an Australian agency.
It stated: ”The Australians said that Singapore’s intelligences services and (Singaporean elder statesman) Lee Kuan Yew have told ONA in their exchanges that opposition leader Anwar ‘did indeed commit the acts for which he is currently indicted’.”
ONA stands for Australia’s Office of National Assessments.
The cable was exclusively released to Australian daily The Sun-Herald and widely reported by other Australian newspapers on Sunday.
Kamarul Baharin, however, said that if it was indeed a trap and if Singapore intelligence has solid evidence, why has the Malaysian court yet to present it against Anwar who is facing his second sodomy trial in 10 years?
The opposition leader has denied the allegation albeit only through his micro-blogging Twitter account, accusing the Malaysian Special Branch of being the source of the information.
It is still too early to assess the impact of the revelation but some political observers note the negative repercussion it may have on Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat.
