KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 ― The online petition telling the US government not to interfere in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s imprisonment was taken down from the White House site last night then posted again this morning but with significantly fewer signatures than the last tally.

Checks to the site last night and this morning showed that the petition’s signature count was reduced by 60,814 signatures from 72,884 at around midnight to just 12,070 signatures as at 9am this morning.

It is not immediately known why the numbers have gone down or the reason the White House removed the petition to begin with but a notice on the site yesterday said it had violated the terms of participation of the website's “We the People” tool.

Launched on February 11, the petition titled “Respecting the sovereign nation of Malaysia” was meant to counter the petition launched by former US ambassador to Malaysia John R. Malott that urges the Obama administration to negotiate for Anwar’s release from prison.

In an email to Malay Mail Online, Malott suggested that the signatures from the counter-petition were removed as they were signed by fake email addresses.

“To me that is a very clear indication that most of those signatures were invalid ― that Umno's ‘cyber troopers’ had created some ‘bot’ that was generating fake email addresses.

“And when the White House technical experts tested those addresses, they found that most of them were fake,” he said.

The counter-petition that claims to be from the “citizens of Malaysia” said it was outraged by the White House’s expression of deep disappointment with Anwar’s conviction last month, also telling the US government to look at its own human rights record and “stop the torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay”.

It also urged the US to stop its alleged interference in Malaysia's judiciary and rule of law.

The counter-petition’s deadline to hit the 100,000-signature threshold expires on March 13.

According to the rules set by the White House, a petition must obtain at least 100,000 signatures within 30 days in order to get a response from the US government.

The removal of the counter-petition yesterday marked a reversal of fortunes, as it was previously still up on the White House website when the petition seeking to keep the spotlight on securing Anwar's release was taken off also for violating terms of participation.

But in less than 24 hours after removing the petition in favour of Anwar yesterday morning, the White House reinstated it.

At 3am this morning, it surpassed its 100,000 target, one day ahead of its deadline tomorrow. At the time of writing, the signature tally was 107,188.

The petition by Malott presses the US administration headed by President Barack Obama to prioritise the release of Anwar in the superpower’s policy towards Malaysia.

“Anwar Ibrahim, the Leader of the Opposition in Malaysia, a champion of democracy, a believer in Islamic justice, and a longtime friend of the United States, was convicted and jailed on trumped-up charges on February 10, 2015,” the petition says.

The petition noted that the US White House had quickly issued a statement after Anwar’s conviction to express its “deep disappointment” and concern over Malaysia’s rule of law and fairness of the judicial system, but said such remarks are inadequate.

“But statements are not enough. The Administration must follow its words with action. Anwar is a political prisoner. The future of democracy in Malaysia is at stake.

Securing Anwar’s release from prison must be a top priority in US policy towards Malaysia, to be advanced in every way possible,” the petition says in urging for action.

The Federal Court on February 10 upheld the Court of Appeal’s conviction of Anwar for sodomising his former political aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, also keeping a five-year jail sentence.