Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - File pix
PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is not being given any special treatment in Sungai Buloh prison while serving his sentence for the offence of sodomising his former aide.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stressed that all prisoners were treated equally as provided by law and the prison regulations.
"I wish to confirm this (no special treatment for Anwar) here," he said, when asked by reporters about concerns expressed by some quarters that Anwar could be given special treatment by the Prisons Department while incarcerated.
Ahmad Zahid earlier attended the ministry's monthly assembly here on Thursday.
Also present were Prisons Department director-general Datuk Seri Zulkifli Omar and Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
The Federal Court had on Feb 10, rejected Anwar's final appeal against his conviction and five-year jail sentence for sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, on June 26, 2008.
According to Zulkifli, the treatment given to Anwar was the same as that given to other prisoners, except that he had been placed not in a prison cell, but in a room alone, which is a normal procedure implemented in the prison.
"As for food and drinks and scheduled visits by family members, it is the same for Anwar as with other prisoners," he said.
He also said that family visit schedules were determined by the colour of prison clothes worn.
With Anwar now wearing red for prisoners serving a jail sentence of six months and above, his family can only visit him once a month.
Zulkifli said the frequency of visits, however, would change depending on the duration of imprisonment.
He also disclosed that Anwar was allowed to meet his family members after being sent to Sungai Buloh Prison on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Noor Rashid said police had received information that a series of gatherings would be held by Anwar's supporters and sympathisers this weekend at a number of locations in the federal capital, including in front of the Sogo shopping complex and at Dataran Merdeka.
He said that in ensuring public order, police would take stern action if the gatherings broke the law.- Bernama
