Anwar says PM's son-in-law being made a scapegoat for Umno's poor poll showing (The Malaysian Insider) KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — Khairy Jamaludin has received support from an unlikely source — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The beleaguered son-in-law of the Prime Minister has attracted blame for Umno’s poor performance in the recent general election and has reached a level of toxicity in party circles that he was not considered for a position in the government and looks set to play a peripheral role in the party polls in December. But the man who he has attacked savagely in the past came to his defence in an interview with The Star. Anwar said: “I don’t share this very personal venom and viciousness that is thrown towards him by many others. “I follow Umno politics quite closely but I don’t share this personal venom against him. It’s not a popular thing to say these days. It may be perceived as my defending him, but I am not defending him. But I don’t share the view that people are attributing the entire blame for the disastrous defeat on him. I think people either over-generalise or apportion blame. “I think he is a very convenient scapegoat although he deserves it to an extent — but not to be blamed for the entire defeat. There are many faults and many problems. You can see the many issues that are raised. It’s not just him. It’s the entire system.’’ Anwar’s words of support could be a kiss of death for a politician who has been trying to live down the perception that he is close to the former deputy prime minister — a perception that was created after he paid a late-night visit to Anwar’s home in 2004, sat down with him for a chat and then handed over a passport to enable him to travel overseas for medical treatment. Khairy was told off for making that visit, saying that it would create the perception among Umno players that he was preparing the stage for Anwar’s return to the party. His friends told him that though the visit was innocent, it would be viewed by supporters of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein suspiciously. To compensate, Khairy started attacking Anwar publicly. When parallels between him and Anwar started gaining currency, he attacked the latter at every opportunity, making it a point to say that Umno was better off without the former deputy prime minister. During a ceramah in Lembah Pantai before the election, he attacked Anwar viciously and is now being sued RM10 million for defamation. Anwar remember that late-night visit to his old home in Damansara well. “He sounded reasonably intelligent to me and he was very polite in that meeting.’’ But Anwar said that he thought that some of Khairy’s later statements appeared to be rather arrogant. In contrast, Anwar said that he was always firm and tough, but never arrogant. His assuring comments will spark a new round of speculation that Khairy may have a political future with the Pakatan Rakyat now that his value in Umno seems to have plummeted.
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