Sodomy II: Anwar seeks to interview a further 10 witnesses apart from PM and wife

KUALA LUMPUR - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim filed a second notice of motion within a week at the High Court here and this time he wants the court to issue an order to interview 10 witnesses, including two Indonesian maids, whose names he had listed in his alibi notice.

In the application filed Monday morning via Messrs Karpal Singh & Co, Anwar named the two former Indonesian maids of Hasanuddin Abd Hamid, owner of the condominium unit where the incident allegedly took place.

One of the maid was identified as Suliati, while the other was Fitria Dipan.

Eight others named were Abdullah Sani Said (Anwar's former driver), Mokhtar Mustafa, Nik Mahmood Nik Hassan, Noor Sham Abdul Hamid, Prof Dr Mohamd Ariff Abdul Karem (ex-executive director of MIER), Mohd Khoharullah Abdul Majid, Raymond Yeoh Cheng Seong (banker) and former chief operating officer of Bursa Saham Malaysia, Omar Malek Ali Merican.

On July 26, Anwar had filed a similar application to interview five witnesses, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

In a supporting affidavit on his latest application, Anwar had stated the same grounds as the earlier application that under the law, the onus was on the prosecution to facilitate witness interviews by the defence and that the cost would be paid by the prosecution.

Counsel Ram Karpal Singh told reporters that Justice Datuk Mohamd Zabidin Mohd Diah would hear Anwar's first application on Wednesday and hoped the second application would also be heard on the same day.

Karpal Singh, when contacted, said most of the 10 witnesses were initially in the prosecution's witnesses list and their statement was recorded by police.

"We want to interview prior to the defence case on what they had actually (10 witnesses) told the police and later decide whether we can still rely on them," said Karpal.

On May 16, Justice Mohamad Zabidin ordered Anwar to enter his defence after ruling that Anwar's former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the complainant in the case, was a truthful and credible witness.

He had set Aug 8-26 to hear the defence case.

Anwar pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court on Aug 7, 2008, to committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature, at Condominium Desa Damansara in Bukit Damansara, between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26 the same year.

- Bernama