A former aide of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has described the latter’s excuse for coming back to Malaysia late during the severe floods as hilarious.

Anuar Shaari wondered how someone, who is "said to be a great and world renowned leader", could not change his ticket and schedule.

"(He should) find a more concrete excuse. For me, this excuse is comical. Where has the great leader and strategist in PKR gone? How did he fail to ‘resolve’ this issue.

"When it comes to toppling BN and garnering people’s support, all sorts of things can be arranged and thought of (by Anwar).

"(So) it is strange that when the people are faced with trouble, Anwar could not resolve the problem of returning home," he told Umno Online.

Anwar, who returned from a family vacation in New Zealand last week, had apologised for his late arrival claiming that he was unable to return because flights were unavailable and his ticket could not be changed.
 
Anuar, who was the opposition leader’s former private secretary, said the excuse did not make sense and compared it to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak cutting short his vacation.

"There is no intention to praise (but) imagine the prime minister being willing to cut short his vacation which included issues concerning the direction of the nation just to see the flood situation for himself.

"Even though his cabinet members and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin discharged their respective duties (during the floods), Najib rushed home on the grounds of responsibility and concern.

"Although he had been criticised and slandered, he still gave priority for the flood victims. But Anwar’s excuse would be etched in history,” he added.

Prior to his arrival, Najib courted flak when a photograph of him teeing off with US President Barack Obama in Hawaii surfaced when the floods in several states worsened.

Meanwhile, Anwar’s camp defended his late arrival, saying that while Najib could rely upon government and air force jets, the opposition leader had to fly in commercial airlines.