I refer to the statement in parliament by Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan that imprisoned leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is allowed special privileges not given to other prisoners.
This is baseless.
It was recommended that Anwar be given intensive physiotherapy two to three times a week. But by Nur Jazlan's own admission, Anwar received only 10 physiotherapy sessions in the course of his imprisonment. And even then, save on rare occasions, he has not been taken to hospital for the physiotherapy session. The sessions have been carried out without proper facilities in prison.
Is this special treatment?
The claim by Nur Jazlan that Anwar has not consented to surgery is misleading. Nur Jazlan fails to mention the long delays and constant pleas from Anwar and his family for diagnosis and treatment for his serious shoulder condition.
Nur Jazlan claims that access to lawyers has been given 65 times during his imprisonment, but fails to mention that Anwar has 16 different pending cases in court. The number of cases requires extensive communication with lawyers. He offers no explanation as to why Anwar's access to lawyers has been arbitrarily reduced to only 1 hour per week.
I call upon the authorities not to give such unacceptable excuses, and instead ensure adequate medical attention and legal access for Anwar. We are not asking for special treatment, but for the bare minimum that every imprisoned person is legally entitled to.
N Surendran is MP for Padang Serai Keadilan
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