Star witness says she tried to 'save' brother from Anwar

Star witness says she tried to 'save' brother from Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A star witness who lodged accusations of
sexual misconduct against Anwar Ibrahim took the witness stand
for the first time on Monday and told how she tried to "save" her
brother from the former deputy premier.

Ummi Hafilda Aziz, the sister of Anwar's then private
secretary, told Anwar's trial she appealed for help in a letter
she sent to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Aug. 5 last year.

"There were two main charges in the report I sent to the prime
minister. One was that he was a homosexual and that one of the
victims brave enough to come forward was Anwar's driver, Azizan
Abu Bakar. The other was that he had an affair with Shamsiddah
Taharin, the wife of his private secretary," she said.

"I asked the prime minister to investigate all the reports and
to provide protection for myself and my family in order to uphold
the truth, the party and the country," the advertising agency
director said.

"Then I asked Dr. Mahathir to save my brother who was working
with the accused," she said, referring to her brother Azmin
Mohamad Ali, the private secretary whose wife Shamsiddah
allegedly had the affair with Anwar.

Ummi, dressed in a black suit with yellow trim, refused to
look at Anwar as she identified him to the court. Her testimony
is crucial to the case, and observers have been waiting for the
moment when she would take the stand.

"I requested appropriate punishment if the report I submitted
was found to be true so that other leaders who were in power
would not abuse their position."

Meanwhile in a related development, a court approved an
application to release Anwar's adopted brother on bail pending
his appeal against a sodomy conviction.

A defense lawyer said the high court decision followed
arguments that Indonesian-born Sukma Darmawan should be "allowed
to be in an atmosphere without restraint" during the Moslem
fasting month of Ramadhan which started here on Sunday.

Sukma, along with Pakistani biologist and Islamic scholar
Munawar Anees, are appealing their six-month sentences which were
handed down the day before Anwar was arrested on Sept. 20. Both
allege that police forced them into confessing that they were
sodomized by Anwar.

Ummi told the court earlier police threatened to detain her
for two years under the Internal Security Act (ISA) if she failed
to retract the allegations.

Ummi said she was interrogated by police from midnight to
seven in the morning after she and the driver Azizan were
arrested on Aug. 17.

"The manner in which I was interrogated was rough and filled
with threats," she said. "I was sure my letter had strong
foundation for police to conduct an investigation. But when I
refused to make a retraction, they continued their mental torture
on me to change my position."

Ummi said she finally agreed after being threatened by a
deputy superintendent identified as Aziz Hussein.

"He threatened to lock me up and detain me under ISA for two
years," she said, referring to the draconian Malaysian law which
provides for indefinite detention without trial.

Ummi said she signed a retraction letter and was released
around midnight on Aug. 18 after police searched her office and
seized a diskette along with copies of her letter, Azizan's
statement and a handwritten draft.

Anwar is accused on four counts of corruption of using his
position to cover up the claims of sexual misconduct. Fired on
Sept. 2 and arrested 18 days later, Anwar faces a fifth
corruption charge and five charges of sodomy, a criminal offense
with a maximum penalty of 20 years jail.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, with his defense
team alleging a political conspiracy to being him down.