This whole charge is vengeance, says Anwar ex-staff in urging court to speed up justice

A former staff of Anwar Ibrahim who said he was framed by those in power when he was arrested for possession of firearms and drugs, today pleaded not guilty to a charge of trafficking 300.1 grammes of cannabis under Section 39(B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

Yusoff Rawther also pleaded the court not to delay justice for him and urged the judge to "begin the trial with all deliberate speed and grant me justice in the present".

"Anything less is cruel injustice," said the 31-year-old.

Yusoff, who has filed a suit against Anwar for sexual assault, told the court that he was under "overwhelming stress", adding that life in prison "is unimaginably harmful".

"Deprived of my constitutional rights, I am rotting in prison," he said.

In court today, he reiterated that he was a victim of those who targeted him.

"My lord, I am innocent," he told the judge. "I have endured being sexually assaulted by someone I had once looked up to, beaten up, injured, threatened to be set up and killed, defamed, followed, and harassed for the past two years, and now, I have been framed.

"My lord, this honourable court has an inherent duty to exercise its formidable powers and protect me from these cowardly evils."

Yusoff has been on remand at Sungai Buloh Prison since his arrest on Sept 6 by a group of policemen, shortly after they surrounded his vehicle.

Family members have recounted how Yusoff was restrained while police searched the car and claimed to have found two pistols and 305g of cannabis.

The incident occurred a week after he submitted the list of witnesses for his suit against Anwar.

Yusoff has maintained his innocence, claiming the items were planted by people harbouring a grudge against him.

He has since filed two police reports with names of people to be investigated, but police have yet to comment on the status of the reports.

The court has set Dec 13 for case submission, on the same day of the case mention for the charge of firearms possession at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

On Oct 9, Yusoff, who is the grandson of the late Penang consumer advocate SM Mohamed Idris, pleaded not guilty to possession of imitation weapons under the Firearms Act, facing a imprisonment of up to a year, fine of up to RM5,000 or both.

Meanwhile,Yusoff, who is a CrossFit athlete, told the court today that his life was "limited to family, work and training".

"I have never engaged in anything illegal nor ever committed a crime in my life. I am being vindictively framed by those in power and maliciously prosecuted.

"This arbitrary campaign of despotic tyranny is an oppressive recrimination against an innocent Malaysian. This entirely fabricated charge is an act of vengeance against me for speaking the truth."

Yusoff worked as Anwar's research assistant at the politician's bungalow office in Bukit Gasing, Petaling Jaya in 2018. In 2021,  filed a lawsuit alleging that the PKR leader sexually assaulted him in October 2018, just days before he won the Port Dickson by-election.

He has filed a separate suit against Anwar's former political secretary Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, claiming damages for the injuries he suffered after he was assaulted at Anwar’s office.

In October 2022, the Shah Alam Sessions Court ordered Anwar's press secretary, Tunku Nashrul Tunku Abaidah, to pay Yusoff RM200,000 in damages for statements he made in connection with the assault on Farhash.