KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's top opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is facing more charges over his role in the Bersih demonstrations in late April. Also facing the new attacks are PKR deputy Azmin Ali and Rembau PKR Youth Leader Hisham Shaharin, all over the Bersih rally on April 28 in the country. The three were accused in a Sessions Court on Monday with abetting R Tangam, G Rajesh Kumar and Farhan Ibrahim in violating a magistrate's court order on April 26 against participating in a street protest. Witnesses, a court official said, heard Ibrahim saying “tak habis-habis penindasan politik” (no end to political intimidation). Counsel Ramkarpal Singh asked the court for more time to amend their previous application to include the new charge. Sessions judge Mahmud Abdullah set September 3 for the hearing of the application. It is the latest in a long list of court dates for the embattled opposition leader. He has also faced attacks from the government over a decade-old corruption case against him as well. Over the past two weeks, at least two key figures in the 13-year-old saga have offered to help the MACC should investigation into the case be reopened. Former Bank Negara assistant governor Datuk Abdul Murad Khalid, whose statutory declaration (SD) on Anwar's alleged control of 20 master accounts worth RM3 billion — dated Oct 26, 1999, and which ultimately prompted the then ACA to launch probes — in a statement earlier this week, stood by his SD and expressed his willingness to come forward again to assist in investigations. Ibrahim is no stranger to allegations and court cases against him. He has been acquitted of same-sex relations by a Malaysia court recently, on charges his supporters argue are trumped up and being publicized as a new election will be held later this year or early next. “These are ridiculous claims aimed at hurting his popularity ahead of the next elections," activist and Ibrahim supporter, Yussif Gandiri told Bikyamasr.com. Late last month, Ibrahim argued while debating the supplementary supply bill that the total amount of money was nearly 40 percent more than the original allocation in the 2012 budget, specifically pointing to the increase in sugar and toll subsidies as “ensuring the profitability of crony companies." “I am certain in this case, the profit to the crony companies is excessive," the opposition leader said of the RM343 million added to the initial RM446 million to subsidize tolls. He also said that as Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary's Tradewinds is one of two companies that control the local sugar market, the RM367 million added to the RM198 million allocated under the budget was not proportional to the actual increase in sugar prices. “We want to know who actually benefits from these subsidies. They say it's for the public. Show us what are the profits of these companies," the Permatang Pauh MP said. The opposition has previously questioned if the government is handing over the RM198 million allocated for sugar subsidies under the fiscal budget to politically-connected companies after nearly tripling sugar subsidies despite a dive in global prices over the second half of 2011.
