Khairuddin's detention deja vu, says Umi Hafilda
Former Umno member Umi Hafilda Ali has expressed sadness over the plight of her former party colleague, Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who is currently detained under Sosma.
Umi, who is the founder and president of NGO Kuasa Suara Rakyat (KSR) said it was a "sad thing" to happen, citing her personal case 18 years ago when she submitted a 22-page report to then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
"It's high time for us to stop the abuse of power by leaders.
"It happened to me during Anwar's time when I submitted a 22-page report to the then prime minister.
"I got a shock of my life when after two weeks of submitting the report, I was arrested by more than 50 policemen, in a very cruel manner. I'm not Botak Chin," she said, in reference to the notorious gangster.
"I was treated like a criminal. (So) as a friend, I'm sad," she said, on Khairuddin's plight.
The former Batu Kawan Umno vice chief had lodged police reports across the globe relating to accounts linked to 1MDB and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ( photo ).
This had sparked several international investigations including in the US, Hong Kong and Switzerland.
Released and re-arrested
Following this, Khairuddin, who is seen as a close ally of Mahathir, was barred from leaving the country and later arrested under Section 124C of the Penal Code which concerns activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.
Khairuddin was released a day before his remand expired and re-arrested immediately under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, a law intended for terrorists, which allowed the government to detain him for 28 days.
Meanwhile, Umi also commented on inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar ( photo ) who had said that Khairuddin was arrested because he had “challenged Malaysia’s legal system, tainted the credibility of Malaysian enforcement agencies and inviting foreign intervention into Malaysian democracy”.
"Khairuddin lodged a police report in December. He has used the appropriate channels.
"When nothing came out of it, it was only then that he went overseas," she pointed out.
As such, Umi has this message for the prime minister, and that is to learn from Anwar's story.
"Learn from Anwar's plight. Allah is great, Anwar has been punished in this world itself.
"No one supported me against Anwar, but I'm confident that Allah is there.
"It took me more than a year to defeat Anwar. But the ending... Look at Anwar now," she said, in reference to the incarcerated leader, who is serving a five-year sentence for sodomy.
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