Saiful's father retracts apology, leaves PKR

Azlan Mohd Lazim, the father of Sodomy II complainant Saiful Bukhari, has retracted his apology to Anwar Ibrahim and quit PKR.

Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia today quoted Azlan as saying that he no longer believes that the sodomy case was a political conspiracy to bring down Anwar.
He also reportedly said that he had not been paid to come out with his statement today, but had done so after asking God for guidance.

According to a copy of Azlan’s handwritten statement obtained by Malaysiakini, he said Saiful's allegation against Anwar is "the truth".

As such, he retracted his apology to Anwar.
Instead, he apologised to his own family members and to Saiful for his 'wayward actions'.
                
He also announced that he is quitting PKR, and will not be joining any political party for now.

This was a U-turn from his stance on March 8 when, at a press conference, Azlan had apologised to Anwar, who had been accused - but later acquitted - of sodomising Saiful Bukhari.

At the time, Azlan claimed that his son had been used by a person linked to BN to smear Anwar.
He had said that he had come forward after confirming the information and asking for divine guidance.
PKR: Azlan came to us

Azlan then joined PKR in March, and has attended its ceramahs nationwide to address the Sodomy II issue.
In an immediate response, PKR supreme council member Johari Abdul (left) said that it was Azlan who had approached the opposition party.
Azlan had offered, it is claimed, on his own accord to make a confession that the allegations against Anwar was political conspiracy.

Johari was one of the PKR members who had helped Saiful’s father in calling for the March press conference.

In a statement, Johari further said that they were unfazed by Azlan’s reversal as such things are “not uncommon during election period.”

“A few days before this, Azlan contacted me and said that he was facing great pressure from Umno. The pressure was also being exerted on his family,” Johari claimed.

The latter also stressed that Azlan had never officially joined PKR as his membership application had yet to be approved.