PM: No one will stop him from running

Opposition stalwart Anwar Ibrahim is free to contest in the by-election for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.

However, he stressed that the country's laws pertaining to the sodomy allegation against Anwar will take their course if there is a case.

"No one will stop him from contesting," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Abdullah was asked whether the country's image will be tarnished if legal action is taken against Anwar now that he has announced his intention to contest in the by-election.

The premier said due process of the country's laws would not discontinue when an individual wanted to contest in an election, adding that there had been no such precedent.

He said both the due process of the laws and the by-election would go on in accordance with their respective processes and could not blend in any way.

He also said that the due process of the laws did not ignore the right of a complainant to seek justice in a court of law, provided there was a case.

"The complainant is (Mohd) Saiful (Bukhari Azlan). He wants to seek justice in a court of law. We cannot ignore him (Saiful), as though he is unimportant.

"Everyone is important. The process of law is important. Everyone has the right to seek justice," Abdullah said.

On June 28, Saiful, who was Anwar’s former aide, filed a police report claiming that the latter had sodomised him.

The police have completed their investigations and submitted their findings to the attorney-general for further action.

Anwar claims that it is a political conspiracy but the authorities have denied this.

Irresponsible action

Yesterday, the opposition leader's wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail resigned as the MP for Permatang Pauh in order for her husband to contest for the seat.

Commenting on this, Abdullah described the resignation as most irresponsible and said it ignored the choice of the voters in the constituency.

"The people voted for Wan Azizah to serve in their interest and not to resign and give the seat to someone else," he said.

Asked about the offer of former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Noor to contest against Anwar in any by-election, the prime minister said the Barisan Nasional would decide on its candidate for Permatang Pauh.

Abdullah said the BN would not hand Anwar an easy victory and was ready to face the by-election.

Ezam, who was Anwar’s former political secretary when he was deputy premier, joined Umno in May.