Probe Who Is Behind Alleged Zahid Anwar Audio Clip Police Urged

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Rather than probe Anwar Ibrahim and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over their alleged phone conversation, the authorities have been urged to investigate if someone tapped their phones and violated their personal privacy.
In a statement today, PKR lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim questioned who was behind the supposed leaked audio recording.
“If the audio clip (allegedly) of Zahid and Anwar is genuine, it is not Zahid and Anwar who ought to be investigated.
“The person who has committed a crime and ought to be investigated is the person who spied on their telephone conversation.
“Who was it? Was it an ordinary individual or a government agency? What power under the law allows certain parties to spy on a telephone conversation between the presidents of two legitimate political parties?” he asked, suggesting these questions to the police for their probe.
Hassan (photo above) underscored the importance of personal privacy, saying only “dictatorial” governments like Nazi Germany tapped the phones of their political opponents.
“Is Malaysia - which is under Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional government - at that level now?” he asked.
Should the audio recording prove to be fake, he urged the police to investigate if the people who disseminated it harboured ill-intentions.
The Pasir Gudang MP also opined that the Umno president and opposition leader were “victims” of a conspiracy against them.
Both Zahid and Anwar have denied the veracity of the clip - allegedly depicting a phone call between the two following the recent Umno annual general assembly.
The Umno supreme council explicitly decided against forming political collaborations with Anwar or Pakatan Harapan component party DAP.
Aside from refuting the clip, Anwar also questioned if it was wrong for him to speak to Zahid, characterising outrage over the clip as a distraction from the government’s failings.
Burden of proof is on PN
Hassan, a trained lawyer, noticed that several PN ministers have been touting the veracity of the audio clip.
Given their interest, he contended that the government ought to provide proof to back up their comments.
“Those who have announced that the video clip is genuine as if they are licensed audio experts are ministers Annuar Musa, Zuraida Kamaruddin and Azmin Ali.
“Hamzah Zainudin has also made several statements about this issue in his capacity as home minister.
“It appears that the burden of proof is now on Muhyidin’s government to prove that Zahid and Anwar’s clip is authentic,” he said.
Audio recordings of several political leaders have surfaced of late.
The authorities were previously urged to investigate a clip allegedly depicting Muhyiddin enticing Umno MPs by offering them ministerial or GLC positions.
The investigation papers were last reported to be with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Early last year, MACC announced that an “anonymous party” had submitted recordings of phone calls allegedly involving Najib Abdul Razak.
One of the clips depicted Najib’s spouse Rosmah Mansor “advising” the then prime minister about the conduct of a former MACC chief and a case involving her son Riza Aziz.

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