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By Liz Lee
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday that a police investigation into a viral list of lawmakers backing his candidacy for prime minister was a “malicious” attempt to pressure him to reveal. the identities of his supporters.
Police said Thursday that they had summoned Anwar to assist in an investigation into complaints about a list of 121 lawmakers, which had gone viral on social media, allegedly backing his bid to take over as prime minister from Muhyiddin Yassin.
Anwar, who spent about two hours giving a statement to investigators, said that only the king had the right to know all the details of the lawmakers who, according to him, back him to provide majority support in parliament.
“I am not here to cooperate with the political masters to name names, because it is not their business. It is between me and His Highness, the Agong,” Anwar told reporters outside the Bukit Aman police headquarters, using the Malay term for the King.
“It is clearly malicious. It is clearly political harassment and clearly, in my understanding, there is a political instruction for the police.”
Anwar met with King Al-Sultan Abdullah on Tuesday to present documentation in an attempt to show that he has a “convincing” parliamentary majority to form a new government.
But the palace later said that Anwar had only provided the number of lawmakers it said backed his bid to become prime minister and not their identities, urging him to respect the constitutional process.
(Written by Joseph Sipalan; Edited by Ed Davies)
