Utusan distorted my words 'as usual', says Anwar

By FMT Staff
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed Utusan Malaysia's translation of a report in the US-based The Washington Post saying that the Malay mainstream media had "as usual distorted my words".
Anwar, who was invited to lecture at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre, said he was asked to explain why he had used the word “Zionist".
"I explained to them that my definition of Zionist was closely linked to acts of trespassing and Israel’s imperial policy.
"But they felt otherwise. Many Americans and Jews felt that it was an unfair translation because they felt that Zion was a country/government which was legitimate and fair.
“So I told them that if that was their understanding… then I did not feel the same way.
“I stood my ground and held the view that Zionists are tresspassers and colonisers. That was the statement that Utusan (Malaysia) has distorted.
“Utusan did not mention the fact that I said ‘the world had lost its patience with Israel’ . It also did not mention the more than RM70 milion paid to Apco Worldwide… so biasa la, we should understand," said the Permatang Pauh MP.
Anwar explained that he visited Washington on the invitation of the Woodrow Wilson International Center to deliver a lecture.
Anwar said it was a norm for the organisors to arrange a session with the editorial team and international media after the lecture session.
Anwar’s visit to Washington from June 23-26, was exposed by a leading Jewish columnist Jackson Diehl in his article in The Washington Post last Monday.
Commenting further on the report, Anwar accused Umno of using the Apco issue to attack him abroad.
"The problem is Umno is using Apco, which has known ties to Israel, to attack me abroad,” he told reporters at Parliament House yesterday evening.
Utusan Malaysia had front-paged the report about Anwar, who is said to have close ties with several eminent Jewish leaders.
The report alleged that Anwar had visited Washington to “clarify/cleanse” his ties with the group after his purportedly anti-Jews statement on the Apco issue recently.