Anwar now says he never presented MPs’ names to Agong

Anwar Ibrahim today said he never claimed to have presented to the Agong the names of the MPs who would support him in his bid to take over Putrajaya.

Emerging from the Bukit Aman police headquarters where he was investigated over several police reports linked to his claim that he has the numbers in the Dewan Rakyat, the PKR president said he never said he had handed over the names of the MPs in his bloc.

“Please don’t put words in my mouth. In my statement, if you recall, I said I presented letters and documents.”

He added that he had only stated the numbers of MPs from each party during his half-hour royal audience at Istana Negara on Tuesday.

Anwar was questioned by police today based on several reports accusing him of fabricating the names of MPs who allegedly supported him for a change of government.

Anwar said he had told police today that it was not their business to uncover the identity of the MPs said to be backing him.

He also described his session with the police as part of a political plot against him.

“It is clearly malicious, clearly political harassment and clearly from my understanding, there was political instruction to the police.

“Because the manner in which questions were raised and the issues brought up were purely on the issue of the MPs, who they are, their names, and whether they gave categorical assurance (of support), which is completely not the business of others to know.

“It is my task as an MP to present this to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” the Port Dickson MP told reporters outside the Bukit Aman police headquarters.

Anwar is being investigated under Section 505 B of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

Earlier, at least 10 MPs denied suggestions that they would back Anwar for the prime minister’s position, including Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Ahmad Maslan, Bung Moktar Radin, Mahdzir Khalid, Idris Jusoh, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman and Shahidan Kassim.

Several of them also lodged police reports.

Following Anwar’s royal audience, the palace said the PKR leader had failed to provide evidence of his claim to having majority support among MPs, and urged him to follow the legal process.