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Malaysia's Anwar summoned by police over complaints ahead of meeting with monarch

Monday, 12 October 2020 11:32 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 12 October 2020 11:32 AM ]

Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim attends a press conference at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur on September 23, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been summoned by police in regard to complaints by a number of lawmakers about his claim to have their support for the country's premiership.

This is as Anwar is preparing for an audience with Malaysia’s monarch on October 13 to present evidence of the legislators’ support for his bid to be prime minister.

Last week, Anwar confirmed the news of an audience with King Al-Sultan Abdullah. But in recent days, his claim that he has a “formidable” number of lawmakers putting their weight behind him to form a new government has reportedly been denied by some of the MPs.

Malaysia’s Anwar claims to have parliamentary support to form new govt.

Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claims he has secured enough support from the parliament in order to replace current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and form a new government.

In a statement on Monday, police said they had received unspecified complaints over a widely circulated list of 121 federal lawmakers who supposedly were backing Anwar's bid.

Police specified that one of the complaints was lodged by a member of parliament; however, they did not disclose the identities of other complainants.

"The police urge the public not to be concerned by the spread of the news, and advise all interested parties against spreading news that has yet to be verified," noted Criminal Investigations Department Director Huzir Mohamed.

Huzir noted that police had initially asked Anwar to give his statement on Monday morning, but due to scheduling conflicts, a new date was to be set.

In the meantime, Anwar asked members of his People's Justice Party not to hold any gatherings while he attended his audience with the king on Tuesday.

"I also call upon all Malaysians to keep calm as this audience session takes place, and to remain calm for any subsequent process that takes place thereafter," Anwar said.

The senior politician, who had been convicted of corruption and sodomy, spent nearly 10 years behind bars, before he was granted a royal pardon in 2018 and returned to politics.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had promised Anwar that he would support him to be his successor.

However, following Mahathir's sudden resignation early this year, the monarch surprisingly appointed former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin as the new prime minister.

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