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PERMATANG PAUH, PENANG: As the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign enters its final lap ahead of Tuesday's polls, the Barisan Nasional (BN)-led government campaign took a heavy beating.
This comes after the imam from a Federal Territory mosque confessed that he was instructed to witness and accept the swearing by Mohd Saiful Bukhari who accused opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy.
The revelation by the 29-year-old imam casts further doubt on the controversial oath-taking that was screened at almost every ceramah or political gathering of BN.
Ramlang Porigi stunned a packed mosque in Bandar Perda on Sunday when he revealed that he had been instructed to witness Saiful's sumpah laknat or swearing in the face of divine retribution.
The imam added that he played no part in drafting the sumpah laknat. "I was instructed to listen to the swearing. I did not arrange it, I have no idea what it's all about," he said.
While the imam denied that he was paid or pressured to tell his side of the story, he went on to give his full backing for Anwar, who has come under pressure to swear on the Quran.
Ramlang Porigi said: "Datuk Seri Anwar is 62. To commit liwat or sodomy, first of all, you need to have strength. Secondly, it has to be consensual. As you know, he's suffering from severe backache, so how could he do that? I leave it to you all to draw your own conclusion."
Despite being constantly challenged, Anwar has refused to swear his innocence on the Quran, saying that that would make a mockery of Islam.
Instead he has chosen to go to the Syariah Court to lodge a complaint against his accuser for slandering him. But that has not been able to quash heightened calls for him to swear on the Muslim holy book.
Muslim voters, who represent nearly 70% of the Permatang Pauh electorate, are split over the moral issue, with BN leaders continuing to play up on Anwar's refusal to take the oath.
Hishammuddin Hussein, Education Minister and UMNO Youth chief, said: "If he swears, it'll be a surprise because he is only doing it last minute. He should have done it earlier. If he does it now, it will be due to pressures."
Asked if he thought Anwar would swear, Hishammuddin Hussein said: "You have to ask him. Everybody wants to know. He's supposed to do it at 11 o'clock this morning, but he didn't."
To convince Muslim voters, especially conservative PAS supporters, that the practice of swearing on the Quran is unIslamic, Anwar has brought in top Islamic leaders from opposition Islamic party PAS.
In his first sermon since Nomination Day, Nik Aziz, the spiritual leader of the PAS, openly appealed to all Muslim voters to turn up on Polling Day to ensure a convincing win for Anwar.
Many PAS supporters were said to be fence-sitters, unsure of Anwar's intention, given his party's liberal and multiracial outlook.
But observers say that with the clear endorsement from Nik Aziz and the confession by the imam, the pressure is off on Anwar at least to swear on the Quran as he seeks to secure a historic win on Tuesday to mark his official return to parliament.
- CNA/ir
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