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©The Star (Used by permission)
by Jane Ritikos

KUALA LUMPUR: Police must treat Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim with the degree of decorum and respect that he deserves so that the people are assured that they are acting appropriately, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

When asked if the police's manner of handling Anwar's arrest reflected badly on Malaysia in the eyes of the world, the Deputy Prime Minister said:

"As long as the police follow the procedures. They must be very particular about following procedures and the necessary protocol. And we should be transparent so that there will be no apprehension about what the police are doing."

On why Anwar was arrested an hour before he was to report himself to the police, Najib said the police had explained this.

He added: "Does it make so much difference, another half an hour or 45 minutes?"

Asked if the police were being high-handed in deploying the Special Ops Units wearing balaclavas when arresting Anwar on Wednesday, he said the Government did not give instructions to the police on how they should conduct the arrest.

"I don’t know about that. It is a police matter. We do not go down to the details instructing the police how to do it.

"It's up to their discretion as to what kind of intervention is necessary on their part," he said before adding, "You can address that question to the police".

He declined to comment further on the matter when asked if the Government viewed Anwar as a threat to the country's stability. "Why do you ask so many questions, the whole thing (press conference) is focused around him."

On whether the Government would consider some of Anwar's suggested measures to reduce the petrol price in the country, Najib said Anwar's proposed measures would reduce Petronas' investment for the future which had helped generate revenue for the national oil company.

"If we use all of Petronas' profits it will not be able to invest for the future and this can affect the future generation. At the moment 40% of Petronas' revenue is from overseas activities because we had earlier planned our investment. Imagine if we never made such planning,” he said.

He added that being responsible, the Government must not only undertake measures for immediate benefit but also for the future, particularly with the current state of oil and energy prices.

Najib said the Government had its own plans to ease the people's burdens and more measures would be announced soon.

Earlier, he launched the logo for the F500 Powerboat World Championship Series 2009 and the Education & Career Malaysia 2008.

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