This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 14, 2018 - June 20, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Abdul Kadir Jasin has defended his relationship with de facto PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, saying it has “always been good”.

“We have been friends for a long time. I knew him before he even joined Umno, when he was leading the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement. When he joined Umno, I got to know him better,” Kadir told reporters yesterday.

However, the former head of media and communications for the Council of Eminent Persons said he has not been in contact with Anwar after the latter criticised him for a blog post concerning the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s expenditures.

Abdul Kadir, also formerly New Straits Times Group editor-in-chief, said he would continue to write. “I am now a reporter like you, [but] the only difference is, I don’t get paid. I am self-employed.”

On Anwar’s travel to the UK, Abdul Kadir said the PKR leader has the freedom to travel abroad and meet people. “Whether he is in an official capacity or not, it doesn’t matter. He is a politician and he has his audience, so [he] goes wherever he likes. There is nothing extraordinary about that.”