Gambar2 Sekitar Himpunan 901: Mahkamah Jalan Duta

The Acquittal Is In Accord With Evidence: Malaysian Bar

The Malaysian Bar welcomes the decision of the High Court in acquitting Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim.  The principles of natural justice call for nothing less, in light of the grave concerns over whether the accused’s right to a fair trial was preserved.

Based on news reports of the trial, it is clear that the High Court decision is in accord with the evidence for, amongst others, the following reasons:

(1) The lack of full disclosure: Both prior to and during the trial itself, the legal team for the defence was denied access to certain documents and physical evidence in the possession of the prosecution, which disadvantaged the accused in the preparation of his defence;

(2) Unreliable DNA evidence: There were obvious concerns that the DNA sample submitted as evidence was unreliable or may have been compromised.

(3) Certain unusual findings during the trial proceedings:

(a) The trial judge made an unprecedented finding at the end of the prosecution’s case that the complainant was a truthful and credible witness, without the benefit of having heard the defence.

(b) While the court allowed the Prime Minister and his wife to be interviewed by the defence legal team, the subpoena issued by the defence compelling the attendance of the Prime Minister and his wife was set aside by the High Court upon the application of the prosecution.  The absence of curiosity in this regard casts grave concerns on the credibility of the complaint in the first place.

(4) The unrefuted relationship between the complainant and a member of the prosecution team, which raised serious questions whether the complainant had access to investigation papers, which would have enabled him to tailor his evidence at trial.

The charge against Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, which is based on an archaic provision of the Penal Code that criminalises consensual sexual relations between adults, should never have been brought.  The case has unnecessarily taken up judicial time and public funds.

The Malaysian Bar hopes that the Attorney General would not pursue any appeal, and will instead focus the valuable resources of the Attorney General’s Chambers on more serious crimes.

By Malaysian Bar

Al Jazeera & CNN On Anwar Acquittal

Anwar: Message On Eve Of 901

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

Tanggal esok 9 Januari 2012 ini, penghakiman kes Fitnah Liwat II akan termaktub dalam sejarah, samada sebagai detik penentuan keadilan ditegakkan ataupun hari gelap buat kedaulatan undang-undang dan kepada mereka yang perjuangkan keadilan.

Saya menyeru seluruh rakyat Malaysia agar membulatkan tekad serta iltizam dalam menuntut pembaharuan politik. Mereka boleh mengaibkan saya, mereka boleh menghumban saya ke penjara, mereka boleh menginjak hak rakyat dan mereka boleh memukul kita hanya kerana berkumpul, akan tetapi mereka takkan dapat merampas kehormatan diri, maruah serta semangat kita untuk melakukan apa yang benar dan memperjuangkan apa yang kita percaya.

Mengulangi fitnah keji sejak dari 1998 lagi terhadap diri saya dan sepanjang sandiwara perbicaraan yang panjang ini, pelbagai fitnah dan tohmahan telah dilemparkan, namun ianya tidak menghakis keyakinan rakyat.  Kita telah menyaksikan betapa polis, pihak pendakwaan dan kehakiman serta media yang dikawal UMNO berganding bahu memastikan agar kerajaan BN yang rasuah dan zalim ini terus berkuasa.

Walau apa pun jua penghakiman yang akan diputuskan nanti, ia harus tetap melonjakkan semangat dan keyakinan menuntut perubahan bagi menegakkan hukum, melaksanakan sistem ekonomi saksama dan memupuk semangat persaudaraan yang tulen. Usaha dan upaya mestilah digembeling demi membanteras kezaliman, rasuah dan penyalahgunaan kuasa. Pastikan pada Pilihanraya Umum ke 13 nanti, kebangkitan rakyat akan menghumban penguasa angkuh  dari tampuk pemerintahan.

Mereka mungkin berhasrat memenjara dan merantai saya tetapi mereka takkan sesekali dapat memasung jiwa dan semangat saya. Di sini saya mengulangi ikrar bahawa saya tidak akan berhenti selagi kita belum berjaya melaksanakan Perubahan dan  menghapuskan segala kebejatan yang dilakukan oleh kerajaan UMNO-BN dan membangunkan sebuah bangsa yang adil lagi saksama. Berbekalkan semangat perjuangan yang murni serta bertawakal kepada Allah, Inshaallah, perjuangan kita akan mencapai kejayaan.

Saya akan tetap bersama anda semua di hati dan jiwa saya dan bersama-samalah kita bina sebuah negara Malaysia yang baharu.

The Anwar Verdict: January 9th, 2012

We have a stake not just in the stability of nations, but in the self-determination of individuals.” That was President Obama at the State Department last May, rolling out his own version of the freedom agenda for the Muslim world. So why has the Administration been virtually silent when it comes to one of the most notorious and long-running abuses of power taking place in the Muslim world today—this one in our good friend and ally, Malaysia?
 

The abuses in question concern Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who on Monday faces a verdict—and potentially years of jail time—on dubious sodomy charges. Mr. Anwar first went through this charade as a deputy prime minister in the late 1990s, when he fell out with then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad during the Asian financial crisis, was savagely beaten by police and ultimately sentenced to prison on sodomy and corruption charges.

Mr. Anwar spent six years in prison. In 2004 the sodomy charges were overturned by the country’s highest court—a year after Mr. Mahathir had left office. Yet Mr. Anwar was again served with sodomy charges four years later, after the ruling UMNO party had lost its two-thirds majority and the opposition seemed close to assembling a parliamentary majority.

The current case is even flimsier than the last one. It is based mainly on the word of one accuser who, as it so happened, had met with then-deputy prime minister, now Prime Minister, Najib Razak days before the alleged incident. Doctors at two hospitals could find no evidence of rape in the aftermath of the alleged incident. Nonetheless, political observers anticipate a guilty verdict.

This is happening in the context of growing discontent among Malaysians with UMNO’s ruling order, and Mr. Najib’s ambivalent attempts at political reform. But if that’s reminiscent of the unhappiness that presaged the Arab Spring, so too is the don’t-rock-the-boat attitude of the Obama Administration.

Malaysia is supposedly a moderate Muslim country and a useful regional counterweight to China, and the President was full of praise for Mr. Najib’s “great leadership” when they last met in November. As for Mr. Anwar, the State Department has publicly offered no more than boilerplate about his case. Perhaps quiet diplomacy is now at work on Mr. Anwar’s behalf, but that kind of diplomacy is fine only as long as it produces results.

In the meantime, Malaysian democracy could benefit from a sign that the U.S. is not indifferent to Mr. Anwar’s legal ordeal or to the political system that has allowed it to continue. U.S. interests could benefit as well. “Failure to speak to the broader aspirations of ordinary people will only feed the suspicion that has festered for years that the United States pursues our own interests at their expense,” said Mr. Obama in May. Mr. Anwar’s case gives the President a chance to show that he meant what he said.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Rakaman Wawancara Sinar TV Anwar Ibrahim

AP Interview: Malaysian In Sodomy Trial Slams Law

With the verdict in his sodomy trial days away, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday decried the laws he’s charged with breaking, calling them archaic rules that can be abused to promote intolerance, invade people’s privacy and punish them too harshly.

The remarks place Anwar, who denies the charges that he sodomized a young male former aide, alone among senior Malaysian politicians. Government and opposition leaders alike in this Muslim-majority nation usually avoid making statements that could be perceived as a nod to gay rights, partly because of discomfort among religious conservatives.

Sodomy in Malaysia is punishable by 20 years in prison and whipping with a rattan cane. The 64-year-old Anwar said he is bracing for the possibility of a long prison sentence when the Kuala Lumpur High Court delivers a decision Monday. He will not face the whipping penalty because of his age.

“My view is that you can’t have laws to be abused for political purposes and to be seen to be punitive and to be unjust to others,” Anwar said in a telephone interview while traveling on a six-day tour of the country for opposition rallies ahead of the verdict.

Anwar’s 26-year-old accuser, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, testified that Anwar coerced him into having sex at a Kuala Lumpur apartment in 2008. Anwar did not take the witness stand but criticized the proceedings in a long courtroom tirade from behind the lawyers’ table, where he could not be cross-examined.

Anwar, who is married with six children, insists he is innocent and claims the sodomy charge is part of a government conspiracy to discredit him and destroy the opposition’s chances of winning general elections widely expected this year. Prime Minister Najib Razak has denied any plot.

The anti-sodomy law is seldom and selectively enforced, often only in cases of sexual abuse of children and teenagers, but gay rights activists have long claimed that it encourages homophobia. New York-based Human Rights Watch last month urged Malaysia to abandon laws banning same-sex relations.

Anwar said that although he believes government must prohibit same-sex marriage and prevent public obscenity, he also believes that current sodomy laws could “be abused to show violent discrimination or intolerance.”

“Our present laws are deemed to be rather archaic,” Anwar said. “The whole idea (should be) to encourage people to understand not to be seen to be so punitive. In this case it’s worse — you can go and probe and peep into people’s bedrooms just to try to smear them.”

This is Anwar’s second time on trial for sodomy. A former deputy prime minister, Anwar was found guilty in 2000 of sodomizing his family’s ex-driver, but Malaysia’s top court freed him from prison in 2004 after quashing his conviction and nine-year sentence.

The current charge surfaced in 2008, several months after Anwar led the opposition to its best electoral results since independence from Britain in 1957.

Anwar said Thursday that regardless of the verdict, his three-party alliance is determined to unseat Najib’s long-ruling coalition in the next elections and form an administration that would curb corruption and racial discrimination. The opposition now controls slightly more than one-third of Parliament’s seats.

“The likelihood of our winning elections … is not a far-fetched idea,” Anwar said. “We believe that change is imminent and for the benefit of all Malaysians.”

Source: Associated Press

January 4th, 2012: Anwar In Seremban