Malaysia

Deputy premier admits meeting Anwar's accuser, denies affair with murder victim

Article published on the 2008-07-03 Latest update 2008-07-06 11:59 TU

Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who claims Anwar Ibrahim sodomised him, arrives at a police station in Kuala Lumpur July 2, 2008
(Photo: Reuters)

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday admitted meeting Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the young man who has accused opposition politician Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him. Anwar claims that the charges are part of a campaign orchstrated by Najib to discredit him. The deputy premier has denied a private investigator's accusation that he had an affair with a Mongolian woman who was brutally murdered in 2006.

Najib admitted meeting Anwar's 23-year-old aide before he filed a police report on the alleged assault.

"He came to see me, complaining that he was sodomised by Anwar Ibrahim. I wasn't even sure if it was true or not," he said. "I suppose he needed help, and he knew one of my officers. That's all. He looked like he was in fear."

But, despite Anwar's claims of persecution, he added that there was "no conspiracy" and the he was "very relaxed" about the case.

Najib also denied accusations that he had an affair with 28-year-old Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian woman whose body was blown up by explosives in 2006.

In a new sworn statement, private investigator Balasubramaniam Perumal says that he learned that the two were having an affair in the days before Altantuya's death.

He claims that Najib's close associate Abdul Razak Baginda, who has been charged with abetting the murder, told him of the relationship and said that the three had dined together in Paris.

A Malaysian blogger faces sedition charges after linking Najib to the case. Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, has also been forced to deny rumours of her involvement in the case.