Anwar Sodomy Trial II -End For Najib and UMNO

KUALA LUMPUR
Wednesday, 3rd February 2010

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reiterated his belief that his second sodomy trial is politically motivated.

He also claimed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is the mastermind behind Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s testimony.

“Umno is ordering them (Attorney-General) to do this. Datuk Seri Najib Razak is also asking Saiful to say what is needed to strengthen the accusation and also to confuse the public,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.

Anwar’s trial finally started today after much delay and Saiful shocked the High Court today when he said the opposition leader had used profane language when asking to have sexual intercourse with him.

Saiful took the stand at the High Court as the prosecution’s first witness, testified that when he first met Anwar at a condominium in Damansara Heights in 2008, the PKR de facto leader had asked him: “Can I **** you today?”

Anwar is accused of sodomising his former aide on June 26, 2008 at a posh condominium in the exclusive Bukit Damansara suburb of Kuala Lumpur.

He has denied the charge, saying it’s a conspiracy similar to that in 1998.

The 63-year-old oppposition leader said that the fabrication of evidence against him is not new and that his lawyers are ready to expose the truth.

“This has happened before. As far as I am concerned, we have to deal with it but let my lawyers cross examine him.

“In the previous case, they claim that they were 13 spots of sperm on the mattress and said that evidence was conclusive.

“But after three months of Utusan Malaysia glorifying and campaigning with issues and tarnishing my image then they decided to expunge the record because they cannot defend the evidence. I believe this will happen again,” he said.

Same with Anwar, this Sodomy II trial is Najib and UMNO tactic to wipe Anwar Ibrahim from Malaysian Political theatre. But this trial could be the last dirty trick by UMNO because this time around I predicted that people will raise against them! 

Anwar was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.

He had earlier led the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in Election 2008.

But he was then mired with the accusation from 24-year-old Saiful, whom Anwar dismissively said was just a “coffee boy”.

Mupok Aku

Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban

Dato Seri Anwar Plans to Subpoena Premier Najib in Malaysia Sodomy Trial

Kuala Lumpur
Tuesday, 2nd February 2010

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he will subpoena Prime Minister Najib Razak to testify in his sodomy trial, accusing the premier and wife Rosmah Mansour of conspiring to frame him.

Anwar’s lead counsel Karpal Singh today petitioned the court at an opening hearing in Kuala Lumpur for a delay in order to gain access to evidence. The court adjourned until 2:30 p.m. local time.

“The first thing Karpal will do is to subpoena Najib and Rosmah,” Anwar told reporters outside the courtroom. “Because they were personally involved in this conspiracy and frame-up.” A spokesman for Najib, who asked not to be identified, said it would be up to the courts to decide on the veracity of any accusations Anwar makes during the trial.

A conviction might end Anwar’s political career. The 62- year-old leader of the People’s Justice Party was jailed in 1998 on a similar charge, and barred from parliament for a decade. Najib runs the risk of being seen as using the trial for political gain, said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Center, an independent research institute near Kuala Lumpur.

“If Anwar loses he will be seen as a victim of political persecution; if Anwar wins, he is vindicated,” Ibrahim said. “Either way, it could just end up very badly for the government.”

Anwar’s lawyers want the chief justice to overrule the Federal Court’s decision on Jan. 29 to reject defense calls to review evidence from the prosecution before the trial begins. “Some 13 to 14 documents are necessary for the defense,” Karpal said.

Feeling the Heat

Najib is already feeling the heat from an inter-faith dispute that led to attacks on several Christian, Sikh and Muslim places of worship last month, including arson and the dumping of pigs’ heads in mosques. The government is appealing a High Court decision to allow a Catholic newspaper to use the word “Allah” to refer to God in its Malay-language section, as some Muslims feel the word is exclusive to Islam.

“This trial damages Malaysia’s already descending reputation,” said Ooi Kee Beng, an analyst at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. “Burning churches, sodomy trials, severed boar heads, a ban on singular words. The Prime Minister is going to have a hard time getting foreign direct investment to flow in.”

Malaysia’s government banned non-Muslim publications from referring to “Allah” in 1986 on the grounds it could threaten national security and confuse the country’s Muslims, who make up more than 60 percent of the 27 million population. Anwar supports the use of the word by other religions.

Not Guilty Plea

The sodomy case is now in its second year after Anwar pled not guilty at an August 2008 court session to charges of having sex with a 23-year-old former aide at an apartment in Kuala Lumpur on June 26, 2008. Sodomy, defined as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature,” carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in Malaysia, even if the act is between two consenting men.

The trial and the ongoing religious dispute may distract attention from Najib’s policies aimed at boosting the economy and investor confidence in the country. Last year, the government announced measures to open up the financial and banking industries to attract more foreign investment.

In addition to 67 billion-ringgit ($20 billion) of stimulus packages unveiled last year, Najib on Jan. 28 announced a plan to reduce corruption, crime and poverty, while improving education, transport and rural infrastructure.

Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy will probably expand 4.1 percent this year after a 2.3 percent contraction in 2009, the World Bank said last week.

Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who was widely tipped to be the next leader of the country, faced similar allegations in 1998. He was sentenced to nine years in jail for sodomy and a separate corruption charge. He was released from prison in 2004 after the conviction was overturned.

Barred from politics until April 2008, Anwar won a seat in his former constituency in Permatang Pauh in August that year.

Mupok Aku

Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban