PKR leadership has attributed the Home Ministry move towards investigating PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s alleged links to militant Muslim groups as a witch hunt.

While campaigning during the Tenang by-election, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the country’s Special Branch and the government’s anti-terrorism taskforce had begun probing a report alleging Anwar has links with international terrorist groups.

The remarks were made following a CNN report that it had sighted a document purporting a secret Saudi Arabian probe had been launched into complaints by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that Saudi personalities were funding Anwar.

The CNN report said that the probe found no such evidence.

NONEHishammuddin, however, said 'a CNN report’ had linked Anwar to a terrorist organisation and that he had asked the Special Branch to find out to what extent is Anwar’s involvement with the alleged group.

Commenting on this today, PKR vice-president Tian Chua said: “The home minister should check his facts before making the statements.

“The whole issue began with CNN report and the prime minister himself pressuring Saudi to investigate the-so-called financial support of Anwar and, maybe in general, the opposition.

“The findings clearly indicated that there were no such things and it also revealed that there are more alarming network that has been funded by Saudi,” he told reporters at a press conference at PKR headquarters today.

“Unfortunately (either) the idea was being spun by (the) BN-controlled media or the home minister is was being mislead,” added the Batu parliamentarian.

Asked if PKR would be open to a probe by the home ministry, Tian stressed that in the event investigations target Anwar, it would be a “witch-hunt or a red herring” against the opposition.

He added there are other issues that should be the priority of the home ministry, such the non-compliance to international standards of information disclosure, abolition of preventive detention laws and security issues such as the worsening cases of human trafficking.

“If there are any investigations of that sort, it would be for cheap publicity, and not (over a) real security concern,” said Tian.

Echoing Tian on the matter, PKR communications chief Nik Nazmi Ahmad said claims had been made that hundreds of billions of ringgit had flow out of the country illegally, but this has been dismissed by the government as not warranting a probe.

“The government is of two minds (on the matter). As Mukhriz  says, there is no need for investigation, but the prime minister states otherwise,” said in reference to Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Mukhriz Mahathir.

When it comes to such claims as “non-existent” links to terrorism, however, the government belies its double standards, said Nik Nazmi.

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