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Anwar Link to Pilot Fuels Political Rivalries
March 18, 2014, 12:49 p.m. ET
By JAMES HOOKWAY And DEBORAH KAN
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The captain of the vanished Malaysia Airlines 3786.KU +2.17% jet and his support for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim have become the latest fodder for political rivals who are accusing each other of exploiting a national crisis.
Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, is distantly related to Mr. Anwar's daughter-in-law, and has voiced support for the politician's People's Justice Party. Mr. Anwar said he wasn't well acquainted with the 52-year-old pilot but rejected public speculation that the flight's disappearance may be due to foul play by Capt. Zaharie.
"There's not a shred of evidence to suggest any uncanny action by him or by me," Mr. Anwar said in an interview Tuesday.
Mr. Anwar, 66 years old, is seldom far from the headlines in this predominantly Muslim nation of 28 million people. On March 7, he was convicted of breaking Malaysia's strict sodomy laws by having sex with a male aide, a charge he denies and describes as an attempt to end his political career. He served six years in prison for another sodomy conviction, which he also denies, before it was overturned in 2004. He has denied all the charges against him.
More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304017604579447130918078984.html?mod=wsj_streaming_stream
By JAMES HOOKWAY And DEBORAH KAN
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The captain of the vanished Malaysia Airlines 3786.KU +2.17% jet and his support for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim have become the latest fodder for political rivals who are accusing each other of exploiting a national crisis.
Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, one of the pilots of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, is distantly related to Mr. Anwar's daughter-in-law, and has voiced support for the politician's People's Justice Party. Mr. Anwar said he wasn't well acquainted with the 52-year-old pilot but rejected public speculation that the flight's disappearance may be due to foul play by Capt. Zaharie.
"There's not a shred of evidence to suggest any uncanny action by him or by me," Mr. Anwar said in an interview Tuesday.
Mr. Anwar, 66 years old, is seldom far from the headlines in this predominantly Muslim nation of 28 million people. On March 7, he was convicted of breaking Malaysia's strict sodomy laws by having sex with a male aide, a charge he denies and describes as an attempt to end his political career. He served six years in prison for another sodomy conviction, which he also denies, before it was overturned in 2004. He has denied all the charges against him.
More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304017604579447130918078984.html?mod=wsj_streaming_stream
Also:
Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim: MH 370 pilot supported me, but was no hijacker
By Kyung Lah and Tim Hume, CNN
updated 10:45 AM EDT, Tue March 18, 2014
(CNN) -- Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says the captain of MH 370 is a card-carrying member of his party -- and an extremely distant relative -- but he dismissed suggestions the pilot may have diverted the plane as a political act in his support.
Hours before the Malaysia Airlines flight vanished en route to Beijing on March 8, Anwar, de facto leader of the People's Justice Party, was sentenced to five years in jail after a court overturned his 2012 acquittal on a sodomy charge.
Some media outlets have reported that the plane's pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, had attended the court hearing, and speculated that the flight's disappearance may have been a political act in response to the verdict. As authorities increasingly focused their attentions on events in the cockpit, the homes of Zaharie and First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid were searched, and a home-made flight simulator found in Zaharie's home, Malaysian officials revealed..
Anwar, who is free pending appeal, told CNN his party had been unable to establish whether Zaharie had been in attendance at court, although a number of his friends had reported he had been "upset and disgusted" by the outcome.
More: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/18/world/asia/malaysia-flight-anwar-pilot/
By Kyung Lah and Tim Hume, CNN
updated 10:45 AM EDT, Tue March 18, 2014
(CNN) -- Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says the captain of MH 370 is a card-carrying member of his party -- and an extremely distant relative -- but he dismissed suggestions the pilot may have diverted the plane as a political act in his support.
Hours before the Malaysia Airlines flight vanished en route to Beijing on March 8, Anwar, de facto leader of the People's Justice Party, was sentenced to five years in jail after a court overturned his 2012 acquittal on a sodomy charge.
Some media outlets have reported that the plane's pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, had attended the court hearing, and speculated that the flight's disappearance may have been a political act in response to the verdict. As authorities increasingly focused their attentions on events in the cockpit, the homes of Zaharie and First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid were searched, and a home-made flight simulator found in Zaharie's home, Malaysian officials revealed..
Anwar, who is free pending appeal, told CNN his party had been unable to establish whether Zaharie had been in attendance at court, although a number of his friends had reported he had been "upset and disgusted" by the outcome.
More: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/18/world/asia/malaysia-flight-anwar-pilot/
Motive?
2 replies
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