KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today accused the police of harassing PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who is being investigated for his remarks against a minister in connection with the RM9 billion littoral combat ships (LCS) procurement scandal.

Anwar, MP for Port Dickson and current PKR president, also described yesterday’s confiscation of Rafizi’s smartphone as "quite excessive”.

In a statement on Twitter, the former deputy prime minister said police treatment of Rafizi so far is clearly a form of intimidation.

"I urged the police chief to stop all forms of pressure and harassment against Rafizi Ramli,” he said.

"The Royal Malaysia Police’s act of confiscating his smartphone for investigation regarding the LCS project is also quite excessive. It’s a move clearly meant to intimidate him in his bid to fight corruption in this country just as they did with youth and students who attended the Turun Rally,” he added, referring to the recent protest against the scandal held by youths.

Rafizi was asked to provide his statement for the investigation at the Sentul district police headquarters yesterday.

He has been accused of defaming a minister with his remarks on the LCS scandal despite the police stating that the matter is still under investigation.

Berita Harian reported Sentul district police chief ACP Beh Eng Lai confirming that investigators confiscated Rafizi’s hand phone as part of the investigation procedure.

Last month, an aide to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad lodged a police report on his behalf against Rafizi for saying a woman named Zainab Mohd Salleh was the minister’s second wife and was linked to the scandal.

Anwar suggested that the police have not acted fairly as he called on the authorities to also investigate Dr Abdul Latiff. Rafizi had already lodged a police report against the minister over the LCS fiasco.

"The authorities must also act fairly in this matter including probing Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad because a police report against him was already filed the other day,” he said.

"It must be reminded that this double standard must not be made common practice and instead the investigation must be fully transparent and free of any (political) pressure.”