ABS-CBN Manila - Former president Joseph Estrada has expressed sympathies over the arrest Wednesday of his friend, former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, on sodomy charges.

“Like Anwar, former President Estrada was put in prison for charges that were unjustified and untrue in order to execute a power grab in 2001,” Estrada spokeswoman Margaux Salcedo said.

Salcedo said that according to Estrada, Anwar’s arrest was “politically-motivated” in light of the former Malaysian minister’s announcement of a political comeback this September.

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KUALA LUMPUR, 17 Julai (Hrkh) – Walaupun disiasat melebihi lima jam dan ditahan reman semalaman, Ketua Umum KeADILan, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak diberikan salinan laporan polis bekas petugas sukarela pejabatnya, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Anwar berkata, setiap kali beliau bertanya berkaitan salinan laporan polis itu, pihak polis memberikan pelbagai alasan dan mengelak untuk memberikannya.

“Apabila bertanya perkara itu, polis hanya menjawab bahawa mereka diarahkan tidak boleh bagi laporan (kepada Anwar). Siapa yang arah? Timbalan Perdana Menteri atau isterinya, atau ketua polis negara?” soal beliau sambil diringi tawa dari pihak media.

Anwar menegaskan kecurigaan pihaknya terhadap ketulenan laporan polis itu jika salinannya diserahkan polis kepadanya hari ini.

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On Saturday, 12-07-2008, the police came to my house to serve a Section 111 Criminal Procedure Code notice, harassing my family and demanding my presence at the IPK Kuala Lumpur (Federal Territories Police headquarters) at 2pm on Monday, 14-07-2008 despite an earlier agreement with my lawyers for me to come to the IPK on Monday 14-07-2008. On the next day, Sunday, the police also served an ex-parte court order, prohibiting me from physically being within 5 km from the Parliament on Monday 14-07-2008. As you can see, my house and the IPK KL are within 5 km radius from the parliament building. The court order effectively put me under house arrest on Monday and at the same time prevented me from going to the IPK.

On Monday, 14-07-2008, the presence of police personnel outside the compound of my house strengthened our suspicions that they would be prepared to arrest me as soon as I left the compound of my residence, on the pretext of me violating the court order. The issue here, is which order should I comply with, the ex-parte court order or the Section 111 notice from the police?
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Conduct of Police in the arrest of  Anwar yesterday was  most reprehensible

July 17, 2008
The reasons given by the Federal CID Chief, Bakri Zinin, as to why Anwar was arrested at his house one hour before the earlier agreed time of 2.00pm to show up at the police headquarters (IPK) is incredible.  Bakri was reported in the media to have said that the police had “reason to believe” Anwar was not going to show up at the IPK because he was supposed to get to the headquarters immediately after giving his statement at the ACA in Putra Jaya but Anwar had changed his route and was heading to his house in Bukit Segambut.

The agreement with Bakri was for Anwar to show up at the headquarters at 2.00pm.  There was however no agreement that Anwar would go to the IPK immediately after leaving ACA in Putra Jaya.  Neither was there any agreement that he should take a particular route from Putra Jaya to IPK.

I accompanied Anwar together with two other lawyers to Putra Jaya yesterday morning.  The car Anwar was traveling picked me up at the Royal Selangor Club, Mont Kiara at 9.30am.  I parked my car at the Club.  We arrived at the ACA at 10.00am.  The other two lawyers and I were with Anwar when his statement was recorded by ACA.  At about 11.45am Anwar informed the officers that he had a 2.00pm appointment at the IPK and asked to be excused and agreed to appear again at another date to continue for his statement to be recorded.  The officer recorded this request in writing.  We left Putra Jaya at about 12.00pm.  Anwar was to drop me at the Selangor Club, Mont Kiara. The other two lawyers, Sankara Nair and Sivarasa, were to accompany him to the IPK for the 2.00pm appointment.  I was dropped off at about 12.40pm.  There was ample time for Anwar to go to his home, which was not far from Mont Kiara, and get to the IPK by 2.00pm.  I then had a call about 1.00pm that Anwar was arrested at his house by a contingent of police officers.  I was shocked.

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Jul 17, 2008

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has been freed on police bail this morning. He was seen leaving with his family and lawyers in a car at 9.45am.

MCPX

He has gone back to his house in Bukit Segambut, Kuala Lumpur and is expected to call a press conference at 2pm.
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IHT/Associated Press

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Police arrested Malaysia’s leading opposition figure on Wednesday on suspicion that he sodomized a male aide — the second time in a decade he has faced the accusation that could send him to jail for 20 years and hobble his campaign to bring down the country’s government.

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New York Times

BANGKOK — In what seemed a reprise of one of the more unusual moments in recent Malaysian history, police officers wearing ski masks seized the country’s most prominent opposition politician, Anwar Ibrahim, on Wednesday and took him to jail on suspicion of sodomy.

After saying he would be freed, the police held Mr. Anwar in custody for at least one night.

The arrest was likely to add to political tensions that have grown since the governing party suffered the biggest losses in its history in an election in March.

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