Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim rebuked the government today for attempting to shift public attention away from issues of national concern by raising the alarm over terror elements in the country.

NONE He said today that the BN government and Umno are aiming to divert public focus on the legitimising of sports gambling, Israeli links in international communications firm Apco Worldwide and the giving away of prime land in Kuala Lumpur to private sector entities.  

"The acts of terrorists cannot be defended in any manner but they (the government) have to follow the law," said Anwar ( right ).

"Where is the evidence that there were such acts? If the threats were as grave as they were said to be, why were the foreign suspects extradited without being charged?" he asked.

It seems that this is the “new propaganda”, said Anwar, since if the claims of terrorism were true they should be brought to Parliament for debate.

“I don’t want the rakyat to be fooled by the attempts of the Umno leadership to divert attention from bigger issues. (They) just want to scare the people by causing tension. Parliament is still in session, so if it is true, table it. The issue of terrorism is non-partisan,” he said.

The Permatang Pauh MP was responding to Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Musa Hassan’s statement that there were terrorist elements in educational institutions.

The IGP had said that foreign members of terrorist movement Jemaah Islamiah (JI) were trying to revive their struggles by recruiting youths in this country, including students in tertiary institutions.

NONE Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak later commented on the matter, urging tighter security measures to be implemented to prevent the spread of JI’s influence .

Pokok Sena PAS MP Mahfuz Omar ( left ) pointed out that BN’s failure to administer the country well was the reason for the government to shy away from issues of national concern.

“From March to June, there had been six to seven major issues of national interest... (but) what was announced by Musa was specifically intended to protect the political interests of Umno and  the BN,” he said.

PKR contemplating contractual agreement

Meanwhile, on the recent defection of Malim Nawar state assemblyperson Keshvinder Singh, Anwar stayed out of the issue, saying he has left it to the DAP to tackle.

Noting the high number of defections from PKR, he was also queried  whether the party would employ tactics similar to that of the DAP’s to tie down their elected representative.

He said that PKR is open to the idea of having its elected representatives ink a contract like those in DAP, where it stipulates that those who quit the party or defect must pay RM5 million in compensation.

“We have not done it but it is an option. We will study it. That’s why it is easier for them (PKR reps) to lompat (defect),” said Anwar.