Anwar still a force in politics, says Kadir Jasin
‘Despite his imprisonment, he still wields influence.’
(Free Malaysia Today) – Jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is still very much a factor in Malaysian politics, veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin says in his latest blog posting.
“Anwar still wields influence despite being imprisoned,” he says in correcting a Malaysiakini report quoting him.
The report was on Kadir’s reaction to former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad’s blog article that is critical of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and, among other things, calls for an investigation to determine who ordered Sirul Azhar Umar to kill Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.
“Among other things,” Kadir writes, “I said I’d like to know whether a police report would be made against Mahathir over his article, just as a police report was made against Khairuddin Abu Hassan over his report against 1MDB.
“I also said there were a few possible explanations for the harsh tone and frankness in Mahathir’s article.
“First, he had just returned from a rather long stay abroad. Second, he was waiting for the grand celebration of Najib’s daughter’s wedding to end, and third, Anwar Ibrahim has been imprisoned and no longer poses a serious threat to Najib.
“But the part about Anwar no longer being an important factor in politics is inaccurate.”
