After getting off to a rocky start on Friday with his bus being attacked, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has reportedly been attacked during a talk at a mosque in Alor Setar, Kedah.

According to a flurry of tweets from PKR leaders, a group they believe to be right wing Malay rights group Perkasa members disrupted the event at Masjid Pumpong in the northern state capital.


Perkasa disrupts Anwar in Alor Setar“I just received information that Anwar Ibrahim has been attacked by Perkasa members at a tazkirah event…,” tweeted Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh at around 8.50pm today.

“Perkasa member trying to storm the masjid to stop Anwar from tazkirah,” tweeted vice president Tian Chua.


“Perkasa (members) threw a show into the mosque. Is that the culture that Umno supports?” tweeted Fuziah again shortly after.

“Anwar now safe at Imam's house after the Perkasa assault,” reported vice-president N Surendran.


The incident is the second in three days to plague the opposition leader's nationwide tour.

Yesterday, Anwar’s Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat bus was splashed with red paint and damaged while on its Kelantan leg.

 

'Attackers wore Perkasa tees'

When contacted, Surendran, who witnessed the entire incident, said that the fracas started at about 7.45pm during the maghrib prayers in Bakar Baka.

Perkasa disrupts Anwar in Alor SetarAs Anwar was about to give his speech after the prayers, a group of Perkasa members - about 100 - arrived outside the mosque.

Surendran said he recognised them as they were wearing the organisation's T-shirts, which was black and bore the Perkasa logo.


Surendran was at that time waiting outside the mosque and “witnessed everything".

"They came to create chaos. They shouted for Anwar to leave and they screamed obscenities," he told Malaysiakini.


Anwar-Alor-Setar-event disrupted by Perkasa"The fracas went on for about an hour. The police, who was contacted did not come until an hour later at about 8.45pm,"he added.

 

Surendran said that after his short speech, Anwar was taken to the imam's house behind the mosque to rest.

Even as was leaving, the group was still at the premises, shouting at him to leave and get out, said Surendran.



'Cops just watched'

Surendran added that the police merely stood watch and did not stop the Perkasa members from their “aggressive and noisy" behaviour.

He said it was very clear that the Perkasa members were out to create chaos.


Perkasa disrupts Anwar in Alor Setar

He added that they tried to intimidate Anwar and the mosque congregation by "kicking, shouting, banging the mosque door which was closed at the time, and also threw a shoe inside the area through the window."

"At one juncture, they dragged Anwar's bodyguard, who was standing outside, and kept him aside while they banged the door," he said.

Surendran was at the time accompanied by PKR legal bureau chief Latheefa Koya, Kuala Kedah MP Ahmad Kassim, and PAS vice chief Mahfuz Omar.

The party members are expected to lodge a police report on the incident soon.

The PKR leaders’ accounts were corroborated by a pro-Umno blog The Unspinners, that also reported the incident this evening, confirming that the perpetrators were from a group called ‘Gerak Khas Perkasa'.

In its posting ‘Perkasa Kota Setar foils Anwar’s abuse of mosque’, the blogger hailed the group’s actions as a move to stop Anwar from “abusing the mosque” with his political speeches.- malaysiakini




Thugs disrupt Anwar's speech, hurl shoes in Alor Setar mosque...

A group of youths believed to be linked to UMNO's right wing offshoot Perkasa turned up at a mosque in Seberang Pumpong, Alor Setar, where opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was delivering a speech.

Anwar who arrived at the mosque as part of his 'Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat' bus tour in Kedah, was delivering the customary tazkirah (short religious lecture) after the Maghrib prayer, when several youths (circled in pic above) emerged and began shouting abuses.

PKR's online organ Keadilandaily reported that the group later turned violent by throwing their footwear into the mosque and switching off electricity.

Despite the blackout, Anwar continued his speech with a loudhailer, said the report, which also identified the leader of the troublemakers as one "Dato Yusof".

Also present at the programme was PAS vice president Mahfuz Omar, who is also Pokok Sena member of parliament.

The attack on Anwar is the second since he left in the specially designed double-decker bus, where he stopped at several towns to meet the locals in Pahang, Kelantan, Perak, Kedah and Perlis.

In Kota Bharu, vandals threw red paint at the bus, in an act descibed by Kelantan Menteri Besar Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat as "disgraceful" to people of Kelantan.- harakahdaily




Ceramah Anwar di Stadium Darulaman 
Alor Star...

Sekalipun majlis tazkirah Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim telah diserang di sebuah masjid di Seberang Pumpong, Alor Star, Kedah oleh PERKASA, namun majlis ceramahnya di perkarangan Stadium Darul Aman, Alor Star, Kedah malam ini dipenuhi dengan lautan manusia.