ANWAR SAYS PAID NOTHING FOR PRIVATE JET TRIP

By : CLARA CHOOI

KUALA LUMPUR : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today downplayed his use of a luxury jet during a trip to east Malaysia two weeks ago, saying the private aircraft was on loan from a “friend” and he did not have to pay for it.

The opposition leader added that the jet’s owner is “not that involved” in Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) affairs and does not have any business interest in any of the four states governed by the pact.

“I asked him, actually, to be fair, because I was a bit concerned in case he has interests in Selangor, Kelantan, Penang or Kedah... but he said categorically, no, he has no problem with it and he is not tied to anyone.

“In case he has interest in Selangor (or the other PR states), it would be difficult for me to use (the jet) because it would be interpreted as abuse or something like that but apparently, he said no, so I am okay,” Anwar (picture) told a press conference in Parliament today.

The PR de facto leader however declined to reveal the identity of the jet’s owner, only saying that the aircraft is registered by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and is based in Kuala Lumpur.

“He agreed to say that if asked, just say a friend helped to arrange it (the jet ride). So if you want to ask, you can check with the DCA whose (jet) it is. That is all I can say.

“But I have known him for some time and he said he will do this for a friend because he understands the problem of logistics,” he added.

Anwar explained that he had agreed to use the jet for the trip as he had needed to travel from Labuan to Kota Kinabalu and there were no available flights in the afternoon.

“If we had wanted to proceed, we would have needed to arrange a speedboat. And for two hours (in a speedboat), my back... has problems,” he said.

Anwar was speaking after pictures of him and several other PR leaders taken in the luxurious private jet were reposted on blogs and social networking site Facebook, fuelling criticism against them for purportedly living lavish livestyles when they often preach moderation.

The group was at the time travelling to east Malaysia to headline PR’s Malaysia Day celebrations in Sabah and Sarawak and to announce the crossover of former Sabah Umno treasurer Tan Sri Ibrahim Menudin into PKR.

The other PR leaders seen travelling with Anwar at the time included DAP vice-chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin, PAS treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli and Terengganu PKR chief Abdul Rahman Yusof.

Anwar further explained that he had deliberately allowed PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang to snap the photographs and circulate them on Facebook as he had not wanted the public to think that they were travelling “in secret”.

“To me, it was transparent. I answered on Twitter three times. Why did we allow Tian to take pictures? Because I did not want people to think we were keeping this a secret.

“That is why we deliberately spread this on Facebook,” he said. (TMI)