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I didn't block Dr M from visiting Anwar, says Zahid

January 13, 2018 20:37·
Pakatan Harapan- Najib Razak and Mahathir Mohamad

Pakatan Harapan- Najib Razak and Mahathir Mohamad

Mahathir and Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be the Pakatan Harapan coalition's candidates for the premier and deputy prime ministerial posts respectively, secretary general Saifuddin Abdullah said at the alliance's convention.

Mahathir, who earned a reputation during his 22-year tenure as prime minister of being a no-nonsense authoritarian with little time for dissenters promoting liberal values, stands to become the world's oldest leader if the opposition wins.

FEAR of controversy prompted the Prisons Department to bar Dr Mahathir Mohamad from visiting opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in hospital yesterday, its director-general, Zulkifli Omar, said today.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak had visited Anwar in November a year ago as a gesture of goodwill after the latter went through a shoulder operation.

"Therefore, he remains governed by prison rules, and any approval for visits can only be given by the prison".

Anwar's daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar described the decision to bar Dr Mahathir as arbitrary and uncalled for, considering politicians from ruling party Umno - such as Prime Minister Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - were allowed to visit her father in November. "We also have to take the prison's viewpoint, whether or not such visits could result in bad implications towards the prison", he said.

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On Sunday, Dr Mahathir was formally announced as the coalition's prime minister designate if the opposition wins power in the next general election, which is expected to be held within months.

Anwar's daughter and PKR vice president Nurul Izzah has criticised the government for its inconsistency.

"There were visits made to Anwar by the Selangor and Penang chief ministers in the past where they had applied and were granted permission".

Zulkifli explained that while family members are allowed to visit convicts in the prison hospital, anyone else must be screened beforehand and subject to approval.

Anwar's daughter, Nurul Izzah, also questioned the Prisons Department's logic in stopping Dr Mahathir but allowing Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz to meet Anwar previous year.

"And of course Anwar has a long history of confrontation with me. There was no intention to talk about politics", he wrote on his blog. "It would have been a step backwards for PH", he said.

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