Multiple online postings spanning several years appear to suggest a digital footprint of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s relationship with businessperson Vinod Sekhar.
This is despite the Pakatan Harapan chairperson, in a court affidavit last week, having denied sharing close ties with Vinod, who is embroiled in a RM30 million lawsuit brought by a group of multinational investors and former employees.
Some of the earliest connections found online date back to May 30, 2018, less than a month after the 14th general election, which saw Harapan’s first rise to Putrajaya, and Anwar’s release from prison.
On that day, Vinod wrote about how Anwar had visited his home the day before and posted photos of the PKR leader with him and his wife, Winny Yeap.
“What an incredible honour it was to have my old friend and brother, Anwar, stop by to visit us. It was Wesak day, so we were all at home.
“It seemed like only yesterday when he was last at our home a few days before his ridiculous and politically concocted imprisonment,” the businessperson wrote.
He said Anwar spent two hours with the family “talking and laughing non-stop”.
Three months later, on Aug 17, 2018, Vinod shared another photo of himself and Anwar in an Instagram post.
The PKR leader, who was wearing a sling, had visited Vinod, who was recovering from a heart attack at the time.
“I’m getting stronger by the day, but having my heart stop momentarily and having a cracked rib has slowed me down quite a bit.
“But it was a real boost having my friend, brother and next PM Anwar swing by for a late visit to make sure I was doing what I was told by Winny and the girls,” Vinod wrote.
Apart from personal visits, Vinod also shared a photo of himself, together with then Sungai Buloh MP R Sivarasa, while on the campaign trail for Anwar’s bid to return to Parliament through the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election in September 2018.
Anwar emerged victorious in the seat vacated by PKR’s Danyal Balagopal Abdullah and returned to the Dewan Rakyat as the opposition leader.
Several years later, in March 2021, Anwar posted his condolences to Vinod on Facebook after the businessperson’s mother passed away.
“Visiting my good friend, Vinod, whose dearest mother passed away last night.
“The late Sukumari Sekhar is the wife of former chairperson of Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia, BC Sekhar,” said Anwar, who was also joined by his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Six months prior, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Anwar flew to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, where he launched The Vibes, a news portal started by Vinod’s Petra Group.
Later in 2022, Malaysiakini reporters observed that Vinod was among the few individuals who had access to the PKR president’s office at Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya, where party leaders gathered in the hours leading to the prime minister’s swearing-in.
Vinod was later spotted in attendance at Anwar’s first press conference as prime minister, held at the Sungai Long Club House, Kajang, on Nov 24, 2022, after the swearing-in ceremony before then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
‘Close relationship’
In recent times, Vinod has also spoken openly about his purportedly close relationship with Anwar.
In a public birthday wish to Anwar on Aug 10 last year, the businessperson wrote a lengthy message detailing how much he admired the prime minister - a "friend" whom he claimed to have known for 45 years.
In the article published on The Vibes and his Facebook page, Vinod reminisced on a time when siding with Anwar was “not fashionable,” insisting that while such a stance was “not always popular… it was right”.
Speaking on The Good Cast Show podcast on YouTube, Vinod disclosed that his wife had written a book called “Electing Anwar” about her experience as “a fly on the wall” who “saw everything that was going on” during elections and post-election phases.
“I think (the book) is a loving tribute… to the challenges my family faced in supporting one man for 25 years.
“Everything we went through… we played in helping strategise Anwar’s ascension,” Vinod said in the episode, which aired on Aug 22 last year.
In a write-up on the Petra Group’s website, Vinod recalled that his business dealings had suffered because of his decision to stand by Anwar when the latter was still in the opposition.
“Vinod refused to budge or step away from supporting his friend. He publicly called for political reform and judicial independence - not something senior business leaders in Malaysia are expected to do.
“When his friends would ask him to just focus on business and not speak out, and in return he would get the benefits in the country he deserves, his reply was ‘I’m a businessman, I’ll sell many things... but my soul is not for sale’,” it stated.
‘Mainly political’
Several PKR leaders and MPs contacted by Malaysiakini declined to comment on Anwar’s reported denial.
However, former PKR vice-president Tian Chua acknowledged Vinod’s association with Anwar but was unsure if the two had a private relationship.
He described Vinod as “a supporter of the Tambun MP” and that “their association was mainly political”.
“I am not sure about their private relationship. From time to time, Anwar would tell people that Vinod has no link to him, especially in business deals,” said the former Batu MP, who was booted out of PKR in 2023.
Bersatu supreme council member Dr Afif Bahardin, a former one-term PKR Youth vice-chief from 2014 to 2018, claimed that Anwar’s ties with Vinod were not secret to PKR insiders.
“Everyone in the party and close to Anwar knows that he and Vinod are close. It is common knowledge,” claimed Afif, who remains aligned with then-PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, who is now the Bersatu secretary-general.
Malaysiakini has reached out to Vinod and the Prime Minister’s Office for comments.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court has fixed June 19 to hear Anwar’s application to strike out a subpoena order compelling him to testify in a suit against Vinod and his wife. - Mkini
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