'Anwar's aide masterminded PMO's 'untrue' statement'

'Anwar's aide masterminded PMO's 'untrue' statement'


A businessperson has claimed that an aide for Anwar Ibrahim was behind an “untrue” statement that was recently released by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

P Thiagarajan, who is a close acquaintance of Anwar, accused the prime minister’s special duties officer M Shanmugam of masterminding the PMO statement which denied Anwar would support the forming of a new party.

Thiagarajan (above) claimed that Shanmugam had deliberately given Anwar the wrong information on what happened at the “Indian Community towards a Brighter Future" event held in Klang on Oct 7.

“Shanmugam misinformed the PM by saying that the day's meeting was a political gathering and made a media statement.

“I call on Shanmugam to explain to the public why he made such a statement without (first) getting an explanation from the police’s Intelligence Division,” he was quoted as saying by Tamil Malar.

“The Intelligence Division had already confirmed that the event was not a political gathering. So, what was the need for Shanmugam to still make such a statement?” he questioned.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, PMO said that Thiagarajan's allegations will be brought to the prime minister's attention for further action.

Thiagarajan previously claimed he had consulted Anwar on forming a new Indian party and would be seeking the latter's blessing to do so.

He announced his plans of forming a new political party during the Oct 7 event, where some 300 also voiced support for the formation of a new party.

The businessperson said that the prime minister was aware of the event and would be informed of any feedback.

He added that the final decision would rest upon the prime minister’s discretion.

Those who attended the event included former MyPPP president M Kayveas, former All Malaysian Indian Progressive Front (IPF) secretary-general K Panjamoorthy, former PKR Kapar assemblyperson S Manikavasagam, former Kahang assemblyperson Ramis Subramaniam and former MIC veteran Dr N Ganabaskaran.


‘Misuse’ of PM’s name

PMO issued a statement two days later on Oct 9 stressing that the Pakatan Harapan chairperson would not back anyone to form a party and decried those who "misused" the prime minister's name without authorisation.

The office did not name anyone in its statement.

Following the PMO's statement, Thiagarajan on Oct 12 denied that he intended to establish a new Indian-based political party.

Thiagarajan explained that his statement in the meeting only meant that he wanted to convey the intention of establishing a new party, on behalf of other people.

“For me, only crazy people would form a new political party after Anwar is made prime minister. I'm not crazy, in fact, I always oppose political parties that ignore the people's rights,” he said.