Anwar expected to testify before panel today

PUTRAJAYA: Opposition de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to testify today before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the foreign exchange (forex) trading losses suffered by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in the 1990s.

His lawyer, R. Sivarasa, when met at the Palace of Justice on the fourth day of the RCI proceedings yesterday, confirmed that his client’s name was on the witness list for the inquiry today.

“His name is on the list. But, this is not fair for him (to give his testimony) as his statement will be handicapped due to limited preparation (for the inquiry).

“He (Anwar) did not have the full information on the ongoing proceedings as he is in jail. All we can do is to provide him the witness statements,” he said.

Lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar said Anwar would not be providing any written statement when giving his testimony before the panel.

“My client does not have time to prepare a written statement as he was only notified (to testify) this morning. Thus, it would be a free-flow statement,” he said.

Anwar, who is serving a fiveyear jail sentence at the Sungai Buloh Prison, was finance min- ister from 1991 to 1998.

Also expected to testify today are former BNM governor Tan Sri Ahmad Mohd Don, former auditor general Tan Sri Dr Hadenan Abdul Jalil and the Finance Ministry’s former finance division deputy secretary Datuk Othman Che Jusoh.

Anwar had said he would cooperate with the RCI as he was the finance minister at the time.