Anwar unfazed by sex allegations

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is unfazed by allegations that he attempted to sexually assault Muhammed Yusoff Rawther.

The Port Dickson lawmaker said he had even heard about such alleged claims months ago.

Anwar said he was not surprised at the level of gutter politics being pushed leading up to his party’s congress this weekend.

“It is becoming quite a culture in this country and it is disgusting. I heard about this months ago, it’s not new ... and attempts to try and influence or bribe ... whatever ... this is politics at its worst and requires tenacity of purpose and courage of conviction to move on with a bigger agenda,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday when asked if he expects more attacks like this ahead or during the congress.

Earlier in a statement, Anwar denied allegations that he made sexual advances on Yusoff, calling it baseless slander.

He said that on the date mentioned by Yusoff, he was campaigning for the Port Dickson by-election and had attended an event to commemorate the 150th birth date of Mahatma Gandhi in Kuala Lumpur before returning to Port Dickson.

Anwar said his private secretary Shukri Saad lodged a police report yesterday over the issue, while his lawyer Ramkarpal Singh would be sending a letter of demand to Yusoff.

Anwar said Yusoff’s actions are aimed at tarnishing his image ahead of the 14th PKR national congress and the power transition process.

Yusoff, in a statutory declaration, had claimed that Anwar had attempted to coerce him into oral and anal sex in the latter’s office.

However, the alleged sexual advances made by Anwar failed after Yusoff allegedly pushed him away and shouted expletives at him.

Yusoff is the grandson of the late

SM Mohamed Idris, the former president of the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP).

PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil told reporters at the Parliament lobby that the timing of the statutory declaration was “peculiar”.

Shukri, who was met by reporters at the Dang Wangi police headquarters, urged the police to investigate the matter thoroughly.

“These accusations are clearly fabricated and have been repeated over and over,” he said, adding that the matter was now in the hands of the police.