H-Net* 'MB paid for Anwar nomination'

[Concorde]

Wednesday, November 3, 1999 'MB paid for Anwar nomination' By Hah Foong Lian PORT DICKSON: A mentri besar allegedly paid several Umno division chiefs to nominate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to challenge Tun Ghafar Baba for the number two post in the 1993 Umno elections. Former Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz yesterday claimed that the mentri besar had admitted his actions to her. "The mentri besar came to my office to tell me about the episode after Anwar was sacked from the party," she said after opening a long residual catalytic cracker at the Shell refinery here. "The mentri besar told me 'this is the hand that had paid several division chiefs to nominate Anwar for the fight against Ghafar'," she said. Without revealing who the mentri besar was nor the amount paid, Rafidah said he explained that he did it because Anwar was well-loved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad then. "Since Dr Mahathir supported Anwar, the mentri besar said 'we, too, supported him'." Rafidah, also the International Trade and Industry Minister, said there had been "people from the private sector" who had complained to her about Anwar's alleged wrongdoings. She said she had advised them to bring up such complaints to the relevant authorities. She would ask her officers at the ministry to come forward if they were previously directed by Anwar or Anwar's officers to do anything for him, she said.