It is IPG hanif who was the first man who told Mahathir about allegation linking anwar to homosexual. Mahathir took it as a rumour and didn’t believe it. Then in 1997, he received a letter from umi hafilda which telling detail about anwar’s allegation on sodomy, then he was wondering how could such a pious person like anwar Ibrahim, who would be able to be imam in prayer, stands in such a high position, would do something like this. The police continued to spy on anwar by then and Mahathir didn’t ask for that,,. He even wanted to stop them, but he doubted if the police would stop.
The police found the evidence by having the pictures and confessions made by the people involved. Mahathir then could not bear to ignore the information. He wanted to see the witnesses. This situation actually has disturbed Tun as he wanted to concentrate on Commonwealth game event that held in Malaysia in 1998.. the first victim to admit on anwars accusation was Azizah’s driver. He confessed that he has been sodomized for many times, but he was afraid to say anything about it because anwar was a powerful person and the authority stands by his side. So he feared of being repealed by him. This evidence was enough to tell Tun that the allegation was true.
Tun also met 4 girls who have been persuaded by an Indian man to see a great man Anwar. They were asked to undress for the purpose of having sex, 2 of them refused and the other two consented. Facing these evidences, he felt that he had to do something to solve this problem. He could not bear to see a man who would replace him soon as a PM is a GAY. Even he should not have been in the parliament at all. Mahathir then call all the UMNO menteri besar to discuss about this matter. He showed them the pictures and asked them if they wanted to meet the witness. Now Tun was in dilemma. What should he do, whether to fire anwar from the cabinet, or to have a villain person who masks on pious face?
On 2 september 1998, Mahathirs has issued the event to the Bernama press about anwar accusation and he became a normal citizen who has been dismissed from the government.There was a strong belief that anwar’s dismissal was a conspiracy, saying that tun was shaken / goyah by anwars credibility. In UMNO annual general meeting, a few people have criticized Tun on what he has done for Anwar. Tun ignored it because not all of matters that have been discussed with menteri besar can be revealed to citizen. It would be government confidential.
The case then was brought to UMNO supreme council which is anwar was the deputy president and would be sitting beside Tun in the meeting. Tun then presented the case and explained why he would fire anwar who was sitting beside him. So he felt uncomfortable, While anwar answering the allegation, he said nothing about homosexual, focusing only on having affairs with women. He declared that he had done nothing unusual in fact saying all the members would have done the same thing. The majority then had chosen to dismiss anwar from the party. By then, the gathering to fight for anwar has begun. Tun was shocked to see anwar’s followers who angrily and full of resentment, threw plastic bottles toward him. Tun has never experienced this circumstance.
Anwar went all over the country to tell people that he was innocent and his dismissal was a conspiracy to stop him from being a prime minister. He never mentioned about sodomy. Pas which before this condemned anwar when he was in UMNO now rallied and fought for him. Mat Sabu who before this has related anwar to homoxesual activities, now would embrace him. Pas organized rally for anwar. Most of the members were fom pas, but many umno members attended.
Tun did not want to make this as a major issue and wanted to concentrate on undergoing commonwealth games. He could not go around all over the country to explain the situation. Meanwhile in Indonesia, Suharto has been overthrown by his citizen with Wall Street occupy or street demonstration. Taking this example, Anwar started a new strategy by promoting REFORMASI (reformation). He was expecting to overthrow Mahathir through folk’s resentment and to have his evocation era. It is said that he went as far as to urge the followers to burn down tun’s house and the headquarters. A few of them managed to get into the building and did vandalism to some rooms. The rest were spread after the police arrived. The foreign journalists who were there to cover games saw the march and rallies. This would be a better story for them to cover. Tun said, one of the correspondents was against him and said what anwar has done is not wrong, and it is his right.
When the IGP decided to arrest anwar of instigating violence, tun was anxious. He knew anwar would become assertive. He asked the IGP to do it gently and do not handcuff him. But nothing he could do, the police were doing their job according to the procedure regulated. They broke into the house hooded, broke the windows, handcuffed him, and threw him into a van and sent him to the police headquarters..Mahathir has been informed that anwar was detained under ISA. He had been asking the police repeatedly why they didn’t charge anwar yet. Then now he learnt that anwar sustained a black eye during his detention and the police wanted to heal it first before they can proceed to the court. Anwar supporter were glad to see his bruise and it would become the evidence of ‘Mahathir maha zalim’/ Mahathir the dictator. The posters were spread everywhere. This situation made tun as the responsible person on what has happened.
High court found anwar guilty. But he managed to convince Malaysian that he was the victim of tun’s conspiracy. Tun himself didn’t understand why people would believe him. Even though there were certain witnesses who were hostile towards tun, but none of them came forward to say that they have been forced by Mahathir to tell lies.
In islam sodomy is a sin. Yet in anwar case, folks were persuaded by anwars piety and the fact saying that anwar was the sodomy doer is unacceptable for them. Even the court found he was. The foreign press seemed to believe that anwar was innocent. Anwar for the second time has sued Mahathir based on “human rights and globalisation” Tun then explained that sodomy is not acceptable in out society.
This issue actually has not faded away. Now Mahathir has resigned, saiful bukhari has recited oath on Quran in a mosque that he had been sodomized by Anwar. He then challenged anwar to swear back and deny the accusation. But anwar refused. Now after 12 years, wherever tuns name mentioned, it must be related with a prime minister who threw his deputy into jail.
Tun said, he is a forgiving person, but he still cannot forgive anwar for demonizing him in the eyes of the world.
"I may have done many mistakes, but removing anwar was not one of them." - Mahathir
Written based on ‘A doctor in the House:’
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