MP: Anwar won’t drag Nalla to court

(NST) – BAYAN Baru member of parliament Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would not dare to sue his former close friend Datuk S. Nallakaruppan.

“Anwar would never risk having evidence of his past raised in court,” said Zahrain, a former Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader who is now an independent MP.

Nallakaruppan disclosed on Saturday that he had received a letter of demand from Anwar’s lawyer seeking an apology within 48 hours over his recent allegations of a sexual nature against the latter.

The letter also asked Nallakarupan to withdraw the allegations and to stop talking about Anwar in the future, or face legal consequences.

In the letter, Anwar is demanding RM100 million in damages for allegedly defaming him.

Stressing that he would not be intimidated by Anwar, who he claimed was out to “silence” him ahead of the general election, Nallakaruppan said he would not reply to the legal notice, but instead dared Anwar to take him to court.

Zahrain said Anwar’s legal threat was merely a ploy to silence his political enemies ahead of the elections.

“It is just a notice of demand, but I do not believe (Anwar) will dare take the issue to court.”

Zahrain said Anwar should have sued others — such as DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who accused him of sodomy in 1997, or Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, who made public a sex video featuring a man resembling Anwar — if he was serious about proving that the statements made against him were false.

“If he wants to clear his name, then he should have proven them all wrong in court from the beginning.”