KUALA LUMPUR - Home Minister Zahid Hamidi's aggressive lunges at political rival Mohamad Sabu, the PAS deputy president, has raised eyebrows especially when Zahid accused 'certain' PAS leaders of allegedly 'deviant' leanings towards the Shia branch of the Islam religion.
But perhaps the latest announcement by lawyer Karpal Singh may help to shed some light on Zahid's dogged bid to drag Mat Sabu into the Shia controversy.
According to Karpal, who is also the DAP chairman, Mat Sabu had many friends with information about Amir Bazil Abdullah, a businessman who had accused Zahid of assaulting him.
Amir has gone 'missing' after failing to show up at the Shah Alam High Court on December 5 for the case against Zahid, raising concerns about the businessman's whereabouts.
"He (Mat Sabu) has promised to get in touch with his friends and some party members to locate my client, who has to be present in court at the end of the month," The Malaysian Insider reported Karpal as saying.
If Amir does not appear in court, the case against Zahid may be struck out.
Picking on Mat Sabu
Meanwhile, Mat Sabu told the news portal that he had sent out feelers to find out where Amir was, based on his last known address.
Amir Bazli was supposed to be present in the Shah Alam High Court to inform judge Vernon Ong on the purported terms of settlement between him and Zahid.
At the recent Umno general assembly, party leaders led by Zahid had taken turns in calling for a clampdown on Shia Muslims. This is despite the 57-member Organisation of Muslim Cooperation's stand in support of good relations between Sunnis and Shias.
Other local Muslim groups have called for the same treatment towards Shias, although they said the denomination should not be recognised as a branch of Islam in Malaysia.
Zahid, an Umno vice president, had said during his speech that he was perplexed as to how PAS, as an Islamist party, could have elected a Shia leader to its "number two top post".
Although, Zahid did not name the PAS leader, it is common knowledge that Mat Sabu retained the PAS deputy president’s post in the party's election held last month.
As criticism for his perceived bullying rose, Zahid has since retreated, saying he had not mentioned Mat Sabu's name directly. Zahid has passed the buck to his ministry officials, who have said they will hold a press conference soon to reveal all the evidence they had against 'certain' PAS leaders whom they insist were Shia followers.
Mat Sabu has denied he is a Shia follower.
"From day one, it was clear Zahid's conduct was very suspicious. He was going after Mat Sabu. The question is, was he trying to send Mat Sabu a message not to interfere in his assault case," a PAS watcher told Malaysia Chronicle.
Final adjournment: Dec 31 D-Day for Zahid
Karpal has requested a final adjournment, which the court had granted. The judge has fixed December 31 in the hope Amir Bazli will be present in court.
"I have asked for a final opportunity in the hope of locating Amir Bazli, failing which the court may strike out his suit against the defendant (Zahid)."
Last month, Karpal wrote to the High Court in Shah Alam to reopen Amir Bazli's assault suit against Zahid as a mediation process had taken place without the presence of lawyers.
On July 18, Zahid and Amir Bazli had met mediator Rohani Ismail, who is also a Sessions Court judge, at the Shah Alam court complex.
Immediately after the mediation exercise, both parties emerged and claimed that the issue had been settled but their lawyers were not informed on the terms of settlement.
Rohani had allegedly told both parties to keep the terms of settlement confidential. This, however, did not go down well with Karpal who said that Amir Bazli's suit was set for trial in August.
Amir Bazli went missing after July 18 and had not contacted Karpal since then.
Authorities closed an eye
As for Zahid, after the mediation exercise, he had revealed that Amir Bazli had apologized to him and that he had forgiven the businessman for falsely accusing him.
Amir Bazli had filed the suit against Zahid in July 2007, alleging that the then deputy minister had punched him in the face at the Country Heights Recreational Club in Kajang, Selangor.
He had said that Zahid had also threatened to kill him and that he was held in wrongful confinement at the latter's home in Country Heights. Amir had been seeing Zahid's daughter.
Zahid denied the allegations and said Amir Bazli had concocted the whole story.
He filed a counter-claim, stating he suffered humiliation and emotional trauma as a result of Amir Bazli’s accusation.
Amir Bazli had also lodged a police report against Zahid but no action was taken by the public prosecutor which resulted in the businessman filing the suit. - Malaysia Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.