Anwar to be hospitalised, family and lawyers demand access

A gaunt-looking Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on May 20. The former opposition leader will be hospitalised soon and his family members say the authorities should let him stay there as long as required. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, May 30, 2015.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's family and his lawyers should be given full access to the jailed former opposition leader when he is hospital next week, PKR said today.

PKR's parliamentary whip Datuk Johari Abdul and Anwar's second daughter, Nurul Nuha Anwar, who leads the March 2 Freedom campaign, urged Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to allow Anwar to stay as long as he is required in hospital.

Anwar is expected to be hospitalised on June 2 at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, but PKR said that the hospitalisation was "delayed" as the authorities have dragged the matter longer than expected although his condition has been worsening over time.

His lawyer, R. Sivarasa, said Anwar, who was sentenced to five years in jail on February 10 after his sodomy verdict was upheld, has lost 6kg in recent months.

To date, the Sungai Buloh Prison hospital has not been able to explain Anwar’s deteriorating health, which is why the family wants him hospitalised.

"The home minister must guarantee that Anwar will be allowed to remain in hospital for as long as it takes for a thorough evaluation of his health and for all the necessary treatment to be given," said a statement issued by Johari and Nurul Nuha.

"Anything less would be a further violation of his rights as a political prisoner," it said.

Anwar's eldest daughter, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, said it would be "unacceptable" for authorities to further delay the hospitalisation from the stated date of June 2.

"In fact, he should be hospitalised immediately. I do not know why they need to wait until Tuesday. Any further delay would be unacceptable," she said.

Nurul Izzah added that the family would demand full access to Anwar during the hospitalisation because this was the practice during Anwar's first imprisonment between 1999 and 2004.

Anwar is currently in the Sungai Buloh prison. He is reportedly suffering from high blood pressure, traces of blood in his stool and a worsening shoulder injury.

- TMI