KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was continuing his testimony in the sodomy trial of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, told the High Court that Anwar had made a “counter-offer” to pay for his studies if he were to continue working as Anwar’s personal assistant.Mohd Saiful, 25, said Anwar had persuaded him not to stop work and told him to be more disciplined.
He said that Anwar had told him that he wanted to pay for his (Mohd Saiful’s) education regardless of where (he wished to study), and he could continue his education on a full-time basis with full pay.
“At that time I did not object the offer. Then after the meeting (with Anwar), several hours later, Anwar sent me an e-mail, saying, ‘thank you for agreeing to continue (your) service’,” he said.
Mohd Saiful, who was wearing a black jacket and a blue-striped shirt, said this when replying to a question by Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden, who was leading the prosecution team in the hearing which entered its third day yesterday.
Anwar, 63, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor and Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh, is accused of sodomising Mohd Saiful at Unit 11-5-1 Kondominium Desa Damansara, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, between 3.01 pm and 4.30 pm on June 26, 2008.
He is charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code and could be sentenced up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
In his testimony, Mohd Saiful was also asked about his e-mail to Anwar concerning his resignation.
Mohd Saiful said he had sent the e-mail to Anwar on June 27, 2008, one day after he had informed of his intention to resign, however, Anwar had asked Mohd Saiful to meet with him at his office in Section 16, Petaling Jaya.
“At that time, I was afraid to face him. He had asked why I had wanted to resign. I said like in the e-mail, which was, the lack of discipline, frequently late to office to the extent that he scolded me, as well as under-qualified and (I) feared I would be disputed because of the better privileges given compared to the qualified staff,” he said.
Mohamed Yusof: What was the real reason for your resignation? Mohd Saiful: The real reason for my resignation was because I did not want to be treated in such a manner anymore.
At this juncture, Anwar’s lead counsel Karpal Singh objected the use of the word “lagi” as the word was not in the charge.
Justice Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah later explained that the word “lagi” meant by Mohd Saiful was that “he did not want the incident to happen in future”.
Earlier, recalling how he started to work for Anwar, Mohd Saiful said his friend Rahimi Osman had telephoned him asking him to come to Rahimi’s office, which was also Anwar’s office, for a conversation as they had not met each other for a long time.
Mohd Saiful said that during the conversation, Rahimi had asked him whether he was interested to work in the office as an office assistant, helping Rahimi because they were short of staff as many of them were involved in the 12th general election.
“After the discussion, I was in the beginning 50-50 whether to agree or not. Subsequently, Rahimi invited me into the meeting room. Rahimi said there was a meeting with Anwar on the election ceramah programmes,” he said.
“I sat in the room and several minutes later, Anwar came in,” said Saiful.
He was introduced to Anwar by Rahimi.
Mohd Saiful said that after the meeting, Anwar had said: “I appreciate for helping us”, as an indication that he accepted Saiful as a volunteer.
Mohamed Yusof: Did Anwar ask about your background?
Mohd Saiful : Yes, he did.
Mohamed Yusof : Were you interested in the work? Mohd Saiful : I was interested because Anwar was a charismatic leader and was my idol when I was small.
At the proceedings, Mohd Saiful also confirmed that the photograph in the closed-circuit camera at 4.35 pm on June 26, 2008 travelling in a red car leaving the condominium was that of himself. — Bernama