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On 2 September 2004, I met Pawanchik Merican, one of Anwar’s lawyers, in the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. “Do you know that Ezam and Anuar Shaari have been collecting money in the name of the Free Anwar Campaign?” Pawanchik asked me.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER | Raja Petra Kamarudin
A 41-year-old former aide to PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has come forward here to provide police with information to assist them in investigations to trace the whereabouts of Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin.
Anuar Shaari, a former Finance Ministry officer who worked for Anwar between 1996 and 1998, arrived at the Melaka Tengah district police station at about 10am on Thursday and spend about 30 minutes with Melaka Tengah OCPD ACP Salehhudin Abd Rahman to pass on the information.
“I gave him details and a written description including a photograph of Pakistani-born American Aasil Kazi Ahmad who may be able to provide information on the whereabaouts of Raja Petra," he told reporters here.
Anuar, who currently runs a business here Ayer Keroh, said he came forward with the information following the advice of the police in connection to a press conference he held in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 6 regarding the matter.
“I urge the authorities, in particular the police, to track Aasil’s whereabouts and movements to get him to assist investigations,” he said.
“Both men (Aasil and Raja Petra) are very close and share similar expertise as media strategists,” he said, adding that Aasil is based in Washington but has been making frequent trips to Malaysia since 2004.
He added that Aasil, who works for a politician and acts as a consultant for a local organisation, was often seen in Kuala Lumpur.
He also said he informed police that Dr Munawar Anees, Anwar’s former speech writer, also shared a close bond with Aasil and may be able to shed light on his whereabouts.
As why he decided to come forward now, Anuar said he was merely passing on information to assist police in locating Raja Petra. When met later, Salehhudin confirmed the meeting with Anuar, adding that the information provided by him would be passed to his counterparts in Bukit Aman.
Raja Petra is wanted for failing to appear in court on two occasions last year over a sedition charge. He is accused of defaming the Prime Ministers wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, in an article on his website. – The Star
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“Anuar Shaari, a former Finance Ministry officer who worked for Anwar between 1996 and 1998, arrived at the Melaka Tengah district police station at about 10am on Thursday and spend about 30 minutes with Melaka Tengah OCPD ACP Salehhudin Abd Rahman to pass on the information,” said The Star newspaper report.
Actually, this is only part of the story. What The Star failed to report is that Anuar Shaari continued working for Anwar right up to 2004 or so, maybe longer. He was one of the principal ‘operators’ from the day Parti Keadilan Nasional was launched on 14 April 1999 right till the launch of the Free Anwar Campaign in August 2000 and beyond.
In 2003 or thereabouts, Anuar Shaari, Ezam Mohd Nor, and two other people who have all since left the opposition, made a trip to the United States. I did not know about it until I received a phone call from a contact in the US. He wanted me to verify who these four people are and whether it is true that they work for the Free Anwar Campaign.
I was caught off guard and did not know how to respond. I lied and said I was in a meeting and whether I could call him back later. I then got in touch with someone who would know what was going on and asked him what was happening.
The person I contacted was surprised that I had found out.
I was of course quite perturbed. The Free Anwar Campaign was just me. I was running the Free Anwar Campaign alone. There were no other people involved in the Free Anwar Campaign. How come there are now four people in the US who are supposedly there on the Free Anwar Campaign business?
The person I spoke to told me why they were there. He then asked me to call back the US and confirm with the person who had called me that the four are legitimate. I did as I was told -- but not before I gave that person a piece of my mind and told him I did not like what was going on. Nevertheless, for the sake of the cause I will obey the order.
I then called back the US and told my contact that the four people who were there are legitimate. I also gave him the names of the four people and my US contact confirmed that I was right.
It is important that I confirm that these four are authorised to act on behalf of the Free Anwar Campaign, my US contact informed me. Then he asked me another question. “Is it true that the opposition is very short of money and that if they had a few million Ringgit then the opposition has a better chance of winning the next general election?”
“That is true,” I replied.
“Okay,” my US contact told me. “Then we will help arrange something for them. Ten or twenty million Ringgit is no problem for us. We can handle that.”
That was just before the March 2004 general election. But the tens of millions in election funds were not sent to Malaysia. Instead, it was channelled to Hong Kong. And the March 2004 general election came before the money could be diverted from Hong Kong to Malaysia. And we never heard of the money again. Soon after that Ezam and his gang, which included Anuar Shaari, left the opposition and joined Umno. Some left just before the 2004 general election.
I found out later from a very senior party leader that the money came from George Soros (see more here: http://www.georgesoros.com/). The four in fact personally met Soros in his office. And I was even told who had arranged for the meeting and the subsequent funding.
On 2 September 2004, I met Pawanchik Merican, one of Anwar’s lawyers, in the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. “Do you know that Ezam and Anuar Shaari have been collecting money in the name of the Free Anwar Campaign?” Pawanchik asked me.
“Yes, I know,” I replied.
“Did they give you anything?” Pawanchik asked me.
“No, not a sen,” I replied.
“I thought so,” said Pawanchik. “I was told they are using your name to collect millions and that they did not give you anything. Why don’t you close down the Free Anwar Campaign? If not these people will use it to collect money.”
My wife who was there agreed with Pawanchik. “That’s what I keep telling him but he is so stubborn,” added my wife.
“I will never abandon Anwar halfway,” I told Pawanchik. “Once Anwar is free then I will close down the Free Anwar Campaign.”
“What if he is not freed? What if he spends 15 years in jail? Do you want to continue running the Free Anwar Campaign for another nine years without being paid any salary and allow them to use it to raise money?”
“I suppose so,” I responded. “But Anwar will be freed today. So today I can close down the Free Anwar Campaign.”
“None of the lawyers think so,” said Pawanchik. I just shrugged my shoulders. Two hours later Anwar was freed by the Federal Court and I went home to make my last posting, ‘Alhamdulillah, Anwar is now free’, and closed down the Free Anwar Campaign.
Yes, that is the story of Ezam Mohd Nor and Anuar Shaari. Of course, I know the identity of the other two who also made that trip to the US, plus the ‘fifth man’, the man I phoned. I also know the name of the senior party leader who told me that the tens of millions came from Soros. And, invariably, I also know the name of my US contact who set the whole thing up. But as long as they keep their peace with me then I shall keep their secret safe. However, the minute they cross me, then their names will be revealed.
