Anwar Ibrahim

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DPM’s Remarks on Jan 12 Rally a ‘Blatant Lie’, Anwar’s Lawyers Say Posted: 08 Jan 2013 08:21 PM PST The Malaysian Insider The deputy prime minister's claim that Pakatan Rakyat (PR)'s January 12 Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat mega-rally is intended to influence court decisions is a blatant lie, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's lawyers said today. Yesterday, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reportedly said that the rally could be used by unnamed groups to influence court cases, saying that the court's decision in calling witnesses should be respected. In the same report by state news agency Bernama, several groups alleged that the rally's date was just days away from PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali's wife, Shamsidar Taharin, testifying as a witness in a defamation case involving Anwar. But Anwar's lawyers today said that Shamsidar is not a witness in any ongoing court cases involving the PKR de facto leader. "Please note that Shamsidar has never been called or listed as a witness in any pending cases involving Anwar Ibrahim," Anwar's solicitors Messrs Daim & Gamany wrote in a statement signed by Latheefa Koya. According to Anwar's lawyers, the opposition leader's defamation suit against Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia over a BBC interview "does not involve Shamsidar at all" and has been fixed for decision this January 21. They pointed out that the other court case in which Anwar is suing Datuk S. Nallakarupan over the latter's statement in Utusan Malaysia was now fixed for case management pending an appeal at the Court of Appeal. "It is therefore shocking and unbecoming of the DPM to so blatantly lie when it is clear there is no basis for him to make such statements or insinuations," they wrote. Yesterday, Muhyiddin reportedly referred to this Saturday's rally as "Himpunan Shamsidar", alleging that it was organised for the personal interests of unnamed individuals. "This rally is not to fight for national issues or interests within the party, but purely for personal matters of certain individuals. Maybe because they have tricks, want to protect their leaders and afraid of what happens in the courts, because of that they drag supporters and the people to rally." "Actually matters like these we give to the courts. If the courts feel that there is a need for the individual to be brought to the witness stand to make any statements to support certain cases; that is the court's right," Muhyiddin was quoted saying by Sinar Harian. The January 12 mega-rally will see the involvement of civil society movements pushing for various demands ahead of Election 2013, including the scrapping of the Lynas rare-earth plant in Kuantan, the promise of fair royalty payments to oil-producing states, free education and a fair polls process. Rally organisers target a turnout of one million people who are expected to wear the signature colours of their respective causes — fluorescent green for anti-Lynas groups, eye-catching yellow for Bersih 2.0, orange for the anti-Felda Global Venture Holdings (FGVH) listing movement and striking red for pro-oil royalty groups.

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