Police : Anwar 'may be' called in
Malaysiakini.com
Apr 17, 2008
Andrew Ong

Kuala Lumpur police chief DCP Mohd Sabtu Osman today said there is a possibility that PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim may be called in for questioning regarding the ‘Black 14' rally at Kampung Baru on Monday. MCPX

public bank road safety campaign 170408 mohd sabtuMohd Sabtu said he and his officers would decide whether to record statements from Anwar, who addressed a crowd of 20,000 people during the rally to celebrate the expiry of his ban from active politics.

Yesterday, police recorded statements from four PKR leaders including Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim regarding the rally.

Asked if more witnesses would be called in for questioning, Mohd Sabtu replied, "Most probably."

However, the police chief refused to comment on the details of the report that was lodged leading to the investigations.

He was speaking during a press conference after witnessing the launch of a road safety programme which was held in collaboration between the police, Public Bank and the Education Ministry in the city.

Claims and counter-claims

Barely seven hours after the rally ended on Monday night, the police served notices to PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, Ulu Kelang MP Azmin Ali, Khalid and his assistant Yahya Shari at 6am.

anwar ibrahim april 14 kg baru event 150408 16Anwar was out of the country at the time. He had returned to Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening.

Over the past two days, there had been claims and counter-claims by both the rally organisers and Mohd Sabtu.

Azmin and Khalid had claimed that discussions on traffic and security details had been held with the police last Friday and the issue of a permit never cropped up.

Khalid added yesterday that the police had been briefed on the full details of the event.

Mohd Sabtu however retorted that the organisers were "lying" if they had claimed that Anwar was on the list of speakers in a correspondence between him and the organisers.

He also claimed that the rally organisers had initially told the police that the event was a dinner function instead of a political rally.

Cops initiated meeting

Clarifying the matter, Mohd Sabtu told reporters that the police had initiated the Friday meeting with the organisers.

Mohd Sabtu claimed that he explained that a permit was needed for an outdoor event, even if its on private property, but the application was never made.

anwar ibrahim april 14 kg baru event 150408 23"They said they would think about it," he said.

On claims by Khalid that organisers had informed the police that Anwar would be among the speakers during the rally, Mohd Sabtu said that he was only informed about this at the last minute.

"Anwar was mentioned in a second letter which I received on that day itself (Monday). That is not proper," he added.

Mohd Sabtu stressed that the rally was illegal because it was held in an open space and open to public participation. The crowd had spilled out of the venue into the roads. 

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