Apartment at the centre of sex trial

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — The sodomy trial of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is likely to centre on a condominium apartment where he is alleged to have sexually attacked a male aide.

The Desa Damansara Condominium unit is owned by a businessman and close friend of the opposition leader.

Anwar has not denied going there over the past several months, but only for secret talks with government leaders, businessmen and politicians.

He told The Straits Times that owner Hasanuddin Abdul Hamid, 63, allowed him use of the apartment, one of three the businessman owns there.

Located in the leafy Damansara Heights suburb, Desa Damansara is home to the rich and famous, including a former top banker and an ex-minister.

“Hasanuddin is a very close family friend and he allowed me the use of the apartment for my political meetings,” Anwar said.

He said he met several people, including an ex-banker and an economist there, but refused to identify them, saying he feared they might come under pressure from the government and their private sector employers.

“Several of them have been questioned (by the police), including Hasanuddin, and the police know we can account for our meetings there,” the opposition leader said.

He was charged on Thursday with sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, on June 26 at the apartment. He pleaded not guilty and is out on bail.

His aides say that in the cloak-and-dagger world of Malaysian politics, having a secret meeting place is not uncommon.

This was especially so, given Anwar's efforts to woo Members of Parliament from the ruling Barisan Nasional to join his opposition alliance.

“At a time when the government is running scared about crossovers, how can we hold meetings in public?” asked a senior aide.

Anwar said that on the day of the alleged sexual assault he met an economist and a former banker, among others, to discuss economic strategies that his opposition alliance could pursue in the five states it controls.

The former deputy premier was sacked in 1998, and disqualified from running for election after his conviction for sodomy and graft in 2000. The sodomy conviction was later overturned.

He is now seeking re-election to Parliament in his old constituency in Penang.

Apartment owner Hasanuddin could not be reached, but Anwar's lawyers said the businessman was questioned for 25 hours by police over the report made by Saiful. They said Hasanuddin's wife was also questioned.

The low-profile businessman worked in the Finance Ministry in the late 1960s before joining national oil company Petronas as a special assistant to its then managing director.

In 1984 he joined the Fleet Group, the former investment arm of Umno.

Close associates said that he is now a strong supporter of the opposition Pas and spends most of his time at his lakeside home in Taiping.

-Sing ST