Perkasa to Anwar: Where is your love of truth?

A group of NGOs lambast Anwar for continuing to refuse submitting his DNA to the court.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Perkasa has thrown PKR’s fight for truth and justice back at its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim by challenging him to uphold these principles and submit his DNA sample to the High Court.
Anwar, who is facing his second sodomy trial, has refused to provide a DNA sample after the High Court ruled last week that the samples obtained from items in his detention cell were inadmissible.
Last Friday, Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abidin applied for the court to compel Anwar to provide his DNA for profiling. Anwar described the application as “frivolous” and “a political game”.
This has led to Perkasa Youth Chief Arman Azha Abu Hanifah questioning whether PKR’s struggle was genuine, seeing that its leader was trying to “silence those who are seeking the truth”.
Anwar and his supporters have said they fear that surrendering a sample of his DNA would expose his case to manipulation by parties determined to kill him off politically. They do not trust the integrity of the system, including the police, the judiciary and medical authorities.
“The fact is the prosecution has all along adamantly refused all defence requests to be provided with full details, data and samples of the DNA testing performed on samples taken from (sodomy accuser) Saiful’s body and clothing,” PKR Communication Director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad wrote in a recent article.
“This is contrary to all established protocols on DNA testing and which would have automatically excluded the evidence in any fair trial.
“Such a refusal makes it impossible for the defence and the court to independently verify the integrity of the testing. The refusal only serves to reinforce the view that the prosecution has something important to hide about the so-called DNA testing.  In such a case, it would be a complete mockery of justice for Anwar to have to provide a DNA sample to help the prosecution affirm a suspicious and fabricated result,” Nik Nazmi had said.
Appeal to the Sgor government
Perkasa’s Arman spoke today at a press conference organized by the 30 NGOs that recently demonstrated in front of the PKR headquarters to call on Anwar to submit his DNA sample.
“What separates Anwar from you and I?” Arman asked. “Why is it so hard for him to prove his innocence? A DNA swab would only take an hour at the most. He has no reason to be afraid if he is truly innocent.
“Does Anwar want to play this game until the next general election in the hope of become prime minister so that he can sweep this under the carpet?  He wanted transparency in the Altantuya case; so we’re asking the same of him in this case.”
Meanwhile, the President of the Malay Veteran Soldiers Society, Ali Baharom, has described Anwar’s refusal as “cowardice”.
“I’ve also heard that the Selangor government plans to secretly fund Anwar’s defense,” he said. “I appeal to Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim not to waste the people’s money on yesterday’s hero who is today’s coward and traitor.”
Concern also arose over the possibility that Anwar would set a precedent for other offenders to refuse similar requests.
The deputy president of the Limousine and Hired Car Drivers and Operators Association, Syahrir Abdul Aziz, said the trial was a “hot topic” among the taxi drivers and that they agreed that Anwar would have been convicted if he was an ordinary Malaysian.
“What will happen if other offenders use Anwar as a reference in refusing to provide their DNA samples in their cases?” he asked.
Arman concluded the session by reiterating that Malaysians were tired of Anwar’s “political pantomime” and his spinning of a “small story into a national issue”.
“I, a small leader, challenge the great leader Anwar Ibrahim to face the court in this matter and provide his DNA sample for the sake of justice,” he said.