KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Khairy Jamaluddin’s plan for Umno Youth to embark on a series of forums to counter allegations made by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s supporters is dangerous and will invite retaliation from the opposition, a Muslim youth group said today.

The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) said while it respects Khairy as a young, open-minded leader, the Umno Youth chief’s knee-jerk response to the uproar over Anwar’s sodomy conviction could similarly be seen as taking the trial outside the courtroom.

“His plan as the Umno Youth chief is narrow-minded and endangers the future of our nation,” Abim president Amidi Abd Manan said.

“If Umno Youth starts this, surely other parties would rise to follow suit by hosting similar events.

“And this would clearly destroy the credibility of our judiciary.”

Amidi said Khairy should be more aware of how some groups have already begun losing faith in the country’s judicial system, and said the leader should be more careful not to spark further tension.

He then reminded the Rembau MP of the recent video featuring a group of four individuals claiming to be members of the Islamic State terror network who threatened to set off explosives at courthouses across the country.

“As a youth leader, he should take precaution, be forward-thinking and responsible,” Amidi said.

Umno, he added, had done right when it waited patiently for six years over the course of Sodomy II.

It was thanks to this patience, Amidi said, that the ruling Barisan Nasional has succeeded in staying in power.

“It is our joint responsibility to protest the country’s legal system,” Amidi concluded, citing the Rukunegara principle of “rule of law”.

At a forum yesterday, Khairy announced plans by Umno Youth to hold a series of public forums to explain the Federal Court’s conviction of Anwar for sodomy and rebut claims of political persecution by the opposition leader.

Despite acknowledging calls for the attacks against Anwar to stop since he was already convicted, the youth and sports minister defended the campaign as necessary to preserve Umno’s “dignity” against the long-standing allegations.

“Why do we do this? To explain the case further? Because for six years, and this has been the basis of their defence, that it was a political conspiracy by Barisan Nasional and Umno, and as a political party you expect us to keep quiet?

“For six years we have allowed them to criticise us freely and we just waited because we wanted to respect the judicial process… up until the latest case we kept quiet.

“Do not expect us to keep quiet after six years of silence,” Khairy told the forum.

Last week, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s 2014 ruling that had reversed Anwar’s acquittal of sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and sentenced the Permatang Pauh lawmaker to five years’ jail.

Anwar will be disqualified as MP and federal opposition leader within 14 days of his conviction unless he files a petition seeking a royal pardon.