KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — The audio recording of a phone conversation allegedly between PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will be sent to the police forensic labs for authentication, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said today.
Acryl told online news portal Malaysiakini, that at least eight police reports have been received from various individuals on the phone conversation as of this morning, adding that an investigation paper has been initiated.
“The police will send the audio recording to the forensics lab to analyse and make comparisons of the voices in the recording,” Acryl said.
He added that reports were received at various police stations in the country, however, the investigation would be handled by Bukit Aman’s Classified Criminal Investigation Department.
Earlier, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said police would only analyse the audio recording of a phone conversation allegedly between Anwar and Zahid once they have lodged a police report.
Hamid urged both PKR and Umno leaders to lodge police reports if they believe the audio recording that went viral on Facebook was fake.
“If it’s true they were defamed, then come forward and lodge a report for their own good. Once a report has been lodged by one of them saying this is defamation, we will open investigation papers.
“Only after that will police process and analyse the audio clip to evaluate the evidence,” Hamid was quoted saying by Astro Awani.
A four-minute audio recording of a phone conversation between two people with voices resembling that of Anwar and Zahid was leaked on the internet.
The clip was first posted on Facebook and started with Zahid’s speech during the recent Umno general assembly, in which he said the party would not accept Anwar, DAP or Bersatu as allies.
It was followed by the phone conversation, with the speaker who sounded like Anwar praising the other for the speech.
Zahid has since expressed his shock and disappointment at the recording, calling it fake and an attempt to weaken and destroy Umno, while Anwar has also rejected the audio recording, similarly calling it fake and slanderous and the latest ploy by “some elements in the government leadership” to damage inter-party ties within the Opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition ahead of GE15.
