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©The Star (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should not be reporting to Washington every time he faces a crisis in the country, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

Describing Anwar as “tukang lapor” (snitch) for the United States, Syed Hamid said Anwar always reported back to Washington.

“If he wants to be the leader of this country, he should stop doing this,” he said.

Syed Hamid also said that Washington had no right to intervene in Malaysia's domestic affairs.

“Moreover, this matter is still under investigation and there is still no conclusion yet,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

He said politicians and prominent figures were not excluded from being investigated or governed by the law.

“This is not politics but an issue that involves some allegations that need to be investigated, so please do not politicise it,” he said.

On whether the country is threatened by Washington’s warning, Syed Hamid said: “The United States always tries to warn small states like us but we have never been threatened or feel threatened by it as there is a system of international law.”

In Bangkok, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said he would write to US State Department spokesman Tom Casey asking him to explain under what rudimentary law Washington wanted “to oppose any use of law enforcement or judicial procedures” in regard to the sodomy allegation against Anwar.

“The Government feels it is an outright infringement of the sovereignty of an independent country. Malaysia is a rule of law country within the international community concept,” he said after visiting the Malaysian Embassy yesterday.

Dr Rais, who is on a three-day visit to Thailand, said the police should be allowed to conduct their investigations within the law.

However, DAP chairman Karpal Singh said other countries had all the right to make necessary observations on Malaysia regarding Anwar’s case.

“We have made observations against other countries, their legal and political system.

“Likewise, other countries have the right to make necessary comments regarding this case,” he said.

He said Malaysia was not in isolation and many countries were watching it to ensure that justice was served.

“It has always been a stand of many countries after what happened in 1998, where Anwar was charged with sodomy and later cleared by the Federal Court, that there were political elements and conspiracy involved,” he said.

Karpal Singh also called on those concerned not to carry out “a trial in the press” by speculating over the evidence procured by the police.

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