Anwar offered me the DPM's post, says Anifah

WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman has revealed that Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had offered him the post of Deputy Prime Minister as bait to switch sides after the general election last year.

“Just for the information of the audience here, Anwar said he would form a government on Sept 16 but he has changed the dates many times. And he was trying to entice Members of Parliament.

“I was personally offered a very lucrative position, like a deputy prime ministership. These facts are not known to the world at large,” he said during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which was packed with American and foreign journalists.

“And he has started trying to buy other legislative members. I think he has not accepted the result of the last elections.

“We (Barisan Nasional) have lost five states and we willingly accept the people’s verdict.”

A Reuters journalist had earlier asked Clinton whether she raised the Anwar issue at her meeting with Anifah as the State Department’s annual human rights report had mentioned that charges against Anwar were politically motivated.

Clinton replied that she had raised the rule of law issues and larger questions concerning institutional reforms that Malaysia had been pursuing.

Anifah, who was calm throughout, said he had faith in Malaysia’s judicial system, citing the case of Perak where the High Court had reinstated Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as Perak Mentri Besar although it was a ruling made against the Federal Government.

Anifah said Anwar was tarnishing the image of Malaysia.

“It is our wish and hope that he will respect the democratic system in Malaysia.”

Anifah told another journalist that Malaysia would use the “good office” of the Asean secretariat to find a solution to the case involving Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who faces new charges less than two weeks before her house arrest was due to end after an American man swam across a lake and entered her home.

On improving US relations with Islamic countries, Clinton said the United States would seek out partners like Malaysia and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference for guidance.