Will ‘bad people’ send Anwar to prison?

Opposition leader is facing the toughest job of his career - telling his grandkids he may not see them for years.

SHAH ALAM: February 10 is inching unbearably close and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has the heartbreaking task to break the news to his grandkids that they may be losing their grandfather to prison if the Federal Court verdict does not go his way.

Talking about his state of mind regarding the verdict on his appeal against a conviction of sodomy, Anwar said that Nurul Izzah’s daughter had asked him, “Grandpa, why are they talking about prison?”

He replied simply, “there are bad people sending your grandpa to prison”, the Malay Mail Online quoted him as saying.

He also said he had talked about the possibility that the court would rule in his favour but preferred to remain cautiously optimistic about it.

“Of course I’ve talked about it. I’ve discussed it with Azizah, Izzah and the children,” he said, referring to his wife Wan Azizah, the state assemblyperson for Kajang and Nurul Izzah, the MP for Lembah Pantai.

Insisting the charges of sodomy were fabricated by his political opponents in a bid to oust him from the political scene, he said that he and Umno, a party in which he moulded his political career on previously, had no longer anything to do with each other politically.

He said this in reference to the party’s raging internal struggle between those in the pro-Najib and pro-Mahathir camps, saying he was working with neither.

Speculations that he was helping prime minister Najib Razak were rife after Anwar offered to work with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on the alleged wrongdoings of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.

“I am no longer an Umno member. My statement at that time was referring to Tun Daim, the Malaysian Insider reported.

He also said news of Daim’s alleged corruption and abuses of power were not something new as it had surfaced way back in 1999 and at the time, he did the needful and lodged a police report as well as showed the relevant authorities documents as proof.

He reiterated that being on the opposing side of politics now, he had nothing to do with either camp in Umno.