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 ©The
Sunday Times, Singapore (Used by permission)
by Reme Ahmad
Mr Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the former aide of opposition leader
Anwar Ibrahim who claimed he was sexually assaulted by his boss, has said that,
despite his so-called 'coffee boy' status, he had accompanied Datuk Seri Anwar
on three overseas trips, including one to Singapore.
In a blog post, Mr Saiful also claimed to have helped arrange secret meetings in
a luxury condominium unit between Mr Anwar and government politicians who wanted
to defect to the opposition.
The claims are sure to rile Mr Anwar and the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), as
they have portrayed him as a volunteer 'coffee boy' who is being manipulated by
Umno leaders.
Mr Saiful, 23, is in hiding after claiming on June 28 that Mr Anwar had
sodomised him.
The PKR, which is unofficially led by Mr Anwar, has dismissed Mr Saiful's
charges. Some party officials have also disparaged his role in the party, saying
that he was a university dropout who worked as a part-time volunteer, mostly
driving Mr Anwar around and making him coffee.
Mr Saiful, in his blog mohdsaifulbukhari.blogspot.com, portrayed himself
as someone who was close to his former boss.
His latest post on Friday afternoon was titled The Tasks of a Former 'Coffee
Boy' to DSAI. Mr Anwar is known as DSAI to his supporters. DSAI stands for 'Datuk
Seri Anwar Ibrahim'.
In the post, Mr Saiful said that his first duty was to help the PKR's chief of
staff manage Mr Anwar's schedule.
His second duty was to 'arrange secret meetings' for Members of Parliament who
wanted to cross over to the opposition. He claimed that the meetings took place
in a unit at the posh Desa Damansara condominium.
He named the owner of the unit as a grassroots leader of opposition Parti Islam
SeMalaysia.
But it is his alleged third task that could become the biggest problem for the
PKR.
Mr Saiful said that he had accompanied his former boss to Hong Kong and Bangkok
in May, and to Singapore from June 16 to 18.
'It is up to you to believe or not. Or try and ask DSAI to explain himself
whether this is true or not,' Mr Saiful said.
'To DSAI, I wish him good luck in his contest,' he added, a clear reference to
the politician's plan to stand in a by-election in his old Penang constituency.
The blog, if it indeed originates from Mr Saiful, has had only three posts. The
blog's Malay title is By God, Religion, Race and Country.
Mr Anwar has not denied that Mr Saiful had accompanied him abroad when asked
about it in a July 4 interview with online newspaper Malaysiakini.
He added that his aides took turns to go with him whenever he had to give a
public lecture or attend conferences abroad.
Mr Saiful's latest post is expected to prompt Mr Anwar's political foes to fire
fresh salvos at him.
And they are likely to be along the lines of a blog post two weeks ago by Mr
Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno Youth's deputy chief.
In a tart response to Mr Anwar's admission that Mr Saiful had indeed gone with
him abroad, Mr Khairy asked: 'Now, why in the world would you take your
volunteer coffee boy on an overseas visit?
'If he was a nobody, just as Anwar and his lackeys painted him out to be, why
would he be part of a coveted overseas entourage?'
He concluded: 'The only explanation I can think of is that his coffee must be
damn bloody good.'
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Circular No 297/2008
