Why Anwar forgave Dr Mahathir

SIBU, Sept 9: “I love my country, I love Malaysia, and that is why I forgave Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last night.

Speaking before a 2,000-strong crowd of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) members here, Anwar said Dr Mahathir deserved to be forgiven because he believed the latter is sincere about reforming Malaysia and getting rid of corruption.

Anwar added that he forgave Dr Mahathir for the latter’s past mistakes and misdeeds to Pakatan Harapan (PH) including jailing him over sodomy allegations.

“We had long conversations and discussions about this. We agreed to work together to rebuild this country which is currently facing many problems and debts,” he said.

Anwar was imprisoned for six years after being overthrown by Dr Mahathir in 1998 on earlier charges of sodomising his former family driver and abusing his power.

He was freed in 2004 after Malaysia’s top court quashed that sodomy conviction.

He was jailed again in 2015 for five years after being accused of sodomy, a charge he described as a politically motivated attempt by then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. — DayakDaily