From sex video, a galvanised Pakatan

Anwar addresses a crowd at his Segambut home, March 24, 2011. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — At Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s home last night, former Abim president Datuk Siddiq Fadhil gave an impassioned sermon to a 400-strong crowd of mostly Muslims. But a quick survey of the compound saw more than half of the men clad in robes or baju Melayus absorbed in reading a chronological account of events in the sex video saga where Anwar is allegedly shown having sex with a prostitute.
Curiosity, especially within the Malay public, has been piqued and this is viewed positively by Pakatan Rakyat (PR), who will be holding a series of rallies in the coming week that will see it go on the offensive, accusing Umno of gutter politics.

Umno has moved to keep Rahim at arm’s length.

“The sex video is shrouded in doubt. This has opened the way for us to reach the public, especially the Malays who want to find out more,” PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution told The Malaysian Insider. Last night, Anwar held prayers at his home and had catered for 250 Muslims to come for a night of sermons, but the opposition leader later had to apologise to the 400 who came for being ill-prepared for the crowd.
If the video is — as PR claims — an Umno ploy, then it may well backfire as pact now appear to have been galvanised.
Anwar is in his element when under siege and issues quickly become platforms for the PKR de facto leader, as was seen when tens of thousands protested his 1998 sacking as deputy prime minister.
His party has responded swiftly  to seize the initiative since the video first surfaced on Monday, alleging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s involvement with the trio, collectively known as “Datuk T”, behind the 21-minute tape.
PKR’s claims of dirty politics by Umno has gained credence when Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, who had to resign in 1994 as Malacca chief minister after accusations of statutory rape, admitted that he was part of “Datuk T.”
Umno, too, has seen the potential damage and has been quick to distance itself from its former Youth chief, insisting that Abdul Rahim was acting in his personal capacity.
Significantly, even PAS now seems to be firmly by Anwar’s side after talk of uneasiness with PKR following a string of by-election defeats in Malay-majority seats.
When a reporter asked Anwar on Tuesday if he should swear on the Quran that he was not the man in a sex video that surfaced the day before, it was PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang who insisted on fielding the question.
“Let me answer this,” he told Anwar at the press conference, before launching into a short sermon on Syariah law.
“We were surprised. Hadi is usually very reserved but I think he has had enough,” said PKR deputy president Azmin Ali.

Hadi has found an unusual fervour for defending Anwar.

The normally calm Abdul Hadi has been on a warpath since. In a sermon that night in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya, he spent over 20 minutes of a fiery speech claiming that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) was indulging in gutter politics to bring down Opposition Leader Anwar, who is also facing an ongoing sodomy trial.
According to Saifuddin, the ceramah drew a crowd of 5,000 — over 20 per cent more than expected.
“Yes, we’ve noticed that Hadi has become very fierce since the video came out,” said former PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar.
Abdul Hadi has been seen as being cool about his Islamic party’s relationship with Anwar, unlike the “Erdogan” camp in PAS that is said to support the embattled PKR de facto leader at all cost.
Anwar finding an unexpected champion in Abdul Hadi to fight the latest allegation of sexual misconduct is the clearest sign that the opposition coalition still has plenty of puff left in it.
Azmin’s sister, Ummi Hafilda, who has accused Anwar of sexual misconduct over the past 13 years, has claimed that there are 18 more sex videos of the Permatang Pauh MP.
But as Badrul Hisham Baharin, a PKR Youth leader, put it last night, “They can have 188 more sex videos and it would not matter.”