PETALING JAYA: Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla has refused to step down as chairman of the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) after a group of Anwar Ibrahim loyalists urged him to resign from his position.
Haniff, the lawyer for an ex-staff member of Anwar in a sexual misconduct probe, said no one had raised any objections when he had taken up other cases against the government, citing cases against the health, agriculture and transport ministers.
He said there were no accusations of him being “unprofessional” for taking up cases against the government despite holding a post in a federal agency then.
“As the responsible chairman of Perda and as a professional lawyer and solicitor, and in obeying the principle of rule of law, which is also respected by the Pakatan Harapan government, I will not bow to this intimidation and threat,” he said in a statement today.
Haniff said those who were dissatisfied with him being Perda chairman can lodge a formal complaint to the rural development minister, maintaining he will continue to serve the federal agency.
Earlier today, Pro ’98 Reformis Malaysia accused Haniff of “gutter politics” for representing Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, who was questioned by police over claims that Anwar had tried to outrage his modesty last year.
The group urged Haniff to resign as chairman of Perda, questioning how the chairman of a federal agency could be involved in such a case.
Haniff maintained that the post did not hinder him from executing his job as a full-time lawyer, adding that it was minister Rina Harun’s decision to appoint him.
He said it was only because Yusoff’s sexual assault case involved Anwar that it was being labelled as “gutter politics”, adding that the principle of the rule of law meant that “nobody is above the law”.
Yusoff, 26, was a research assistant at Anwar’s office in Petaling Jaya until earlier this year, when he claimed he was assaulted by the Port Dickson MP’s political secretary, Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak. He has since slapped a civil suit against Farhash, although Farhash denies the accusations.
At a press conference streamed on Facebook Live on Dec 4, Yusoff claimed that a senior politician had committed a crime against him which he described as “un-Islamic, vile, insidious and morally repugnant”.
Bukit Aman has since summoned Yusoff twice to record his statement.
Anwar has strongly denied the claim, calling it baseless and politically motivated. He also instructed his lawyer, Ramkarpal Singh, to take legal action.
Today, Anwar spent two hours at Bukit Aman police headquarters as part of the investigaton into the sexual misconduct complaint against him. - FMT
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