The Malaysian Prime Minister-to-be, in a keynote address at an event in Kuala Lumpur, reflected on his stint in prison following his sodomy convictions, saying it was rotten fish and black tea that kept him slim.
But he said the charges that brought him to prison were fabricated.
The Justice Party (PKR) president said his two stints in prison totalled nearly a decade with convictions in 1999 and 2015, adding that “beef was served only twice and he was served with rotten fish all the time.”
The 72-year-old political leader reminded the audience what he had to endure, the inhumane and degrading conditions during his incarceration.
“Over three-and-a-half years (when imprisoned following a sodomy conviction), beef was served only twice. Tea was served without milk and sugar,” he said.
The Star Online, formerly a pro-Barisan Nasional mainstream newspaper that would not have carried such an article in the past, published the above story recently.
“And I read thousands of books. I spent time reading, while at the same time had very little food. And I remained healthy. Try staying in prison for a while,” he said.
But, despite all the hurdles and mistreatment, he viewed the experience in a positive light, noting how the diet in prison had kept him slim and free of diabetes.
He maintains that the sodomy and abuse of power charges filed against him during the time of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first tenure, were fabricated.
He said Dr Mahathir and his accomplices fabricated the charges, which the Mahathir government had denied then. The Mahathir regime sentenced Anwar to prison after sacking him as deputy PM and Finance Minister.
His sacking from the government marked the start of the ‘reformasi’ movement in Malaysia, which after 20 years, toppled the BN regime ironically with the help of Dr Mahathir. -/TISG