On the stump, Anwar strikes back at Dr M

Anwar trotted out his long-standing accusations of nepotism and cronyism against Dr Mahathir. — file pic

BANTING, March 11 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim went on the offensive last night in a renewed battle with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, repeating his accusation that his political mentor practised cronyism and nepotism in his 22-years as prime minister.

 
Anwar sought to avoid directly addressing claims by Dr Mahathir in his memoirs out earlier this week, that he had propositioned four girls for sex and not denied accusations of sodomy while he was still deputy prime minister in the 1990s.

Dr Mahathir wrote that Anwar had not denied the 1998 sodomy claims.

Instead, he attacked the former prime minister’s credibility in a political rally here last night, saying the Mahathir administration, which lasted from 1981 to 2003, was rife with corruption.

 
The opposition leader compared Dr Mahathir’s government unfavourably against that of the early Muslim caliphates, who he said were remembered for eliminating poverty.

“In his 22 and a half years, how could he take care of the poor when his friends and children were billionaires?” said the PKR de facto leader.

The country’s longest-serving PM said in his autobiography that Anwar did not deny accusations of sodomy before being sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998, and should have succeeded him as prime minister if not for his own actions.

In the book titled “Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” he said that when Anwar had been hauled up before the Umno supreme council, he “never once referred to the question of homosexuality, focusing only on the affairs with women.”

In his long-awaited memoirs, Dr Mahathir also claimed to have met four girls who said they were propositioned by Anwar for sex.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have said Dr Mahathir’s move has been timed to coincide with Anwar’s ongoing second sodomy trial and attacks against his relevance as opposition leader after two bruising by-election defeats last weekend.

Anwar alleged last night that the government had recently reallocated RM23 billion of Petronas funds meant to be invested overseas, moving these back into the country to be given to cronies such as Dr Mahathir’s son, Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir.

He claimed that Mokhzani’s Kencana Petroleum was one of three local companies to sign multi-billion ringgit deals with the national oil company.

The Permatang Pauh MP also reminded over 1,000 supporters at Stadium Jugra last night that while Malay PAS and PKR leaders were accused of selling out to the Chinese in DAP, it was Dr Mahathir who had given out gambling contracts to Chinese cronies.

He cited the betting operations of Tan Sri Vincent Tan’s Berjaya Group and the casinos operated in Genting Highlands by the family of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong.

Anwar also savaged Dr Mahathir for purportedly being fooled by former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who was recently charged with cheating the Cabinet in 2002 over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, which could end up costing the government RM12.5 billion.

Promised that PR would reverse these practices once in power, Anwar made a firm vow that fuel prices would be reduced as soon as it took Putrajaya.