All attempts by the Datuk T trio to tarnish Anwar Ibrahim has fallen flat and now they are enlisting the help of religion
PETALING JAYA: The people are sick and tired of the sex video scandal and the Datuk T trio’s attempt to link it to Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.And the latest move to get Anwar to undergo a polygraph test or take an oath in a mosque to prove his innocence is an attempt to keep the issue in the limelight.
PKR vice-president N Surendran said Anwar was right to reject the calls as his three accusers – Rahim Tamby Chik, Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and Shuib Lazim – have tarnished reputations.
“Rahim was involved with a minor when he was the chief minister of Malacca, Eskay is a shoddy businessman and Shuib comes from Perkasa which, we all know, is a sworn enemy of Anwar,” said Surendran.
He said the attempt to tarnish Anwar’s public image has not worked as the people do not believe it was him who is featured in the video.
“In fact, the entire scandal had only served to fuel public anger against the Barisan Nasional (BN),” Surendran said.
Surendran, who is also a coordinator for Lawyers for Liberty, said the entire episode had failed to damage Anwar’s credibility as the accusers themselves had an image problem.
On the lie detector challenge, he said there was no basis for Anwar to take the polygraph test as it was not Anwar in the video in the first place.
“There are instances where people can beat the polygraph test. Besides, it is outrageous for Eskay to challenge Anwar to take the test. It’s just an attempt to sensationalise the matter to deflect public attention from the real issues of the nation,” he said
Image intact
Fellow PKR vice-president, Fuziah Salleh, concurred with Surendran’s statement, saying that Anwar’s image was undamaged as the latter had consulted prominent ulamas on whether or not to take an oath in a mosque to prove his innocence.
As for Eskay’s claim that he was there when the video was shot, Fuziah said if Eskay was a God-fearing man, he should have stopped the act from taking place.
“If you bring the case to the Syariah court, the accuser must provide four witnesses to prove his allegation under ‘qazaf’. Eskay himself will be questioned on why he didn’t not stop the act from happening as he claimed he was there,”said Fuziah, who is also Kuantan MP.
She added that it was wrong for Eskay to have taken an oath in the mosque over the matter as this was only allowed for specific cases .
“Just by swearing on the Quran doesn’t not mean he is telling the truth. If an oath can be used to resolve such cases, then why do we need to have police and courts?” she asked.
Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng, however, believed that public perception on Anwar’s credibility was at stake among those who do not have access to alternative news.
“And the real victim here is not Anwar but Islam,” said Khoo.
He explained that the act of dragging Islam into the sex video scandal is creating a bad image of Islam among the non-Muslims.
More ammunition
Asked on whether Anwar could do anything to salvage the situation, Khoo said there was nothing much Anwar could do at this point.
“He should focus on strengthening PKR as the party itself needs a lot of improvement. He should also work to groom future leaders as people would want to see dynamism in a party,” he said.
International Islamic University of Malaysia’s political analyst Aziz Bari said Anwar’s image had not been hurt by the incident.
“The controversy had actually strengthened his resolve and it gives him more ammunition to take on Umno.
“Besides, look at the accusers. Can’t they (Umno) find anyone else apart from these three stooges,” Aziz said, referring to the “Datuk Trio”.
Last month, the trio had invited several journalists to view a 21-minute sex video allegedly showing Anwar having sex with a prostitute.
Anwar has since dismissed the allegations and had also filed a police report on the matter.
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