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Why Australian MPs protested the Anwar trial

By Michael Danby | The Malaysian Insider

FEB 21 — Last week saw an unusual event in Australian politics: backbench members of Parliament from both sides took a foreign affairs initiative, independent of their party leaderships.

Sixty Members and Senators — Labor, Liberal, Green and independent — signed a letter which was presented to the Malaysian High Commissioner protesting against the current trial of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim on charges of “sodomy.”

The letter was signed by, among others, Laurie Ferguson, Malcolm Turnbull, Greg Hunt, Bob Brown, Nick Xenophon, Duncan Kerr, Deputy Speaker Anna Burke, Jennie George, Gary Gray and Mark Dreyfus QC.

It followed a speech which I gave in the House of Representatives on Feb 3, in which I drew the House’s attention to the 2nd Sodomy trial in Kuala Lumpur of Anwar Ibrahim.

I’m very grateful to all the Members and Senators who signed the letter. I can’t recall another backbench initiative like this in recent times.
Continue reading “Why Australian MPs protested the Anwar trial”

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Anwar, Allah and the caning of women

By Jema Khan | The Malaysian Insider

FEB 18 — I have been a loyal member of Umno since they came to Sabah in the early nineties. I have served in the Umno Youth exco, as Umno Youth chief of Sabah, as Umno Youth chief of Tuaran and even as a branch leader in my division.

I retired fully from politics in 2000 to focus on my business with a sense of satisfaction in having done some good both in Sabah and in Malaysia. That was good enough for me and I felt I had done my duty and could now concentrate on my business, family and myself.

In the passing of time since, I have seen many a friend being elevated to the highest level of Government. That pleased me in that at least I knew the main players in Government personally. From time to time, I would give my views to them on this issue or that when the opportunity arose. I would not be writing this if there was a more discreet way to repair the serious damage done to my country.

I consider myself a liberal Malay and have always acted as such even when I served Umno a decade ago. Although I would toe the party line eventually in most issues, I espoused my liberal views often to my compatriots and they listened though not necessarily agreeing. Nevertheless, we all remained firm friends. Today they seem unable to tackle issues which I consider basic and yet having serious repercussions.
Continue reading “Anwar, Allah and the caning of women”

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Anwar Ibrahim is the cause celebre in the court of world opinion

By Dr Chen Man Hin

Ever since Sodomy 2 trial began, the name of Anwar Ibrahim has rocketed in the major newspapers spanning the globe from east to west and north to south.

In Jakarta, Bangkok, Hong Kkong, Taiwan, Tokyo, Sydney, Washington, New York, London, Paris, Rome, Cairo, New Delhi, there was universal protest that Anwar should be tried once again on trumped up charges of sodomy.

The editorials in Bangkok Post, New York Times, Washington Post, Asian Wall Street Journal were replete with derision, mockery and scorn that a prominent opposition leader could be arraigned before the court on trumped up sodomy for a second time.

In 1998, Anwar was tried and jailed for six years on trumped up charges of sodomy. He was later exonerated from the false charges. The international community is therefore shocked with disbelief that the Malaysian Government is trying the same trick again.

They are aware that Anwar is a very strong contender to be Prime Minister. He is leader of a strong opposition coalition PAKATAN which won five states in the 2008 general elections.
Continue reading “Anwar Ibrahim is the cause celebre in the court of world opinion”

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Just commission public opinion poll and Najib will know whether majority of Malaysians buy his claim that Anwar’s Sodomy 2 trial is “a personal, not political trial”

In rejecting my call for an emergency meeting of Parliament on Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy2 trial, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak does protest too much.

Najib said the Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy2 trial does not warrant a special sitting of Parliament as it is a private matter between two individuals, that it does not involve government policy and not a matter of national interest.

I challenge Najib to commission a public opinion poll and the Prime Minister will know whether the majority of Malaysians buy his claim that the Anwar Sodomy2 trial is “a personal, not political trial”.

Extend the opinion poll to all keen observers of Malaysian affairs world-wide and there can be no doubt that the overwhelming majority of opinion – whether national or international – will be of the view that the Anwar Sodomy2 trial is a political, not personal, trial!

Najib can entrust the Minister for KPI and 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon with the responsibility to commission such national and international opinion polls, and I have no doubt of their outcomes.
Continue reading “Just commission public opinion poll and Najib will know whether majority of Malaysians buy his claim that Anwar’s Sodomy 2 trial is “a personal, not political trial””

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Mandela-isation of Anwar?

by Azly Rahman

“Man proposes, god disposes”
Thomas a Kempis, ‘Of The Imitation of Christ’

While America awaits The Super Bowl, Malaysia awaits The Super Trial II this week to listen to the arguments concerning the predicament of Anwar Ibrahim.
Philosophically, what ought to be the shape of things to come? Where do we go from here, as a nation? Where do we wish to bring this nation that is in need of deep reflection on the meaning of nationhood and democracy?

Maturity after Mahathirism

If we take 1998 as a framework in looking at the changes this country is seeing politically, Anwar can be seen as an embodiment of Nelson Mandela.

His spirit did not die for the six years he was jailed and upon his release a momentum was created that grew in strength to first, become institutionalised in the form of a strong Parti Keadilan Rakyat and next, of Pakatan Rakyat.
Continue reading “Mandela-isation of Anwar?”

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Why the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim matters to the West

The Washington Post

FEB 7 – In the past two years, Malaysia, which has been a one-party state since it gained independence in 1957, has made remarkable strides toward becoming a democracy. That it has done so is mostly due to the efforts and political talent of one man – Anwar Ibrahim.

So the fact that Anwar went on criminal trial last week should deeply concern the democratic world. The outcome could determine whether one of Asia’s most economically successful countries preserves its stability and embraces long-overdue reforms.

A former deputy prime minister in the ruling party, Anwar was deposed and jailed in 1998 by former Malaysian strongman Mahathir Mohamad.

A manifestly unfair trial followed in which Anwar was convicted of homosexual sodomy, which shamefully remains a crime in Malaysia.

Six years later, the conviction was overturned by a court, and Anwar resumed his political career – this time as an open champion of democracy in Malaysia and other Muslim countries.
Continue reading “Why the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim matters to the West”

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Twitter exchange – Anwar’s Sodomy 2 and NEM

02/06/2010 06:54 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar Journos owned by politicians shld not talk high and mighty about “NEM is 2 impt to leave 2 politics n politicians”.

02/06/2010 06:49 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar “NEM is 2impt to leave 2 politics n politicians” – Najib n MCA Ministers not “politicians”? Star owned by MCA – so? Warped logic

02/06/2010 06:46 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar “I agree with u tht sodomy 2 ws a fixed up but …” who said this? Backing off so quickly? Deny when cornered?

02/06/2010 06:38 PM
saiwanstar: @limkitsiang Don’t recall ever saying who fixed sodomy 2 did I? :) no bullseye uncle lim. NEM is 2 impt to leave 2 politics n politicians.

02/06/2010 06:21 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar Y classic mca kneejerk allegation dap will sabo d country’s economy? U have sole claim 2patriotism? U owe public apology
Continue reading “Twitter exchange – Anwar’s Sodomy 2 and NEM”

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Stop Anwar Sodomy2 trial if Najib is serious about Malaysia 2.0 new economic model …

In his 2010 New Year Message issued on 31st December 2009, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak forecast that Malaysia will emerge stronger in 2010 with the long-term as well as short and medium-term initiatives taken by the Government.

However, Malaysia has becoming weaker instead of stronger whether in terms of national unity or in international competitiveness since the first day of the new year.

The first month of the new year was marred by irresponsible mischief to create inter-religious discord over the Dec. 31 judgment of the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan lifting the 2007 Home Ministry ban on the Catholic Church weekly Herald and allowing the use of the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia version – with a spate of desecration of churches, mosques, surau and Sikh Gurdwara.

As a result, Malaysia’s international image and standing suffered unprecedented battering in the first month of the year, aggravating Malaysia’s crisis of confidence, undermining Malaysia’s international competitiveness and tarnishing Malaysia as a safe and secure haven for FDIs and as an ideal location for tourists and students.
Continue reading “Stop Anwar Sodomy2 trial if Najib is serious about Malaysia 2.0 new economic model …”

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Malaysia on trial along with Anwar

By Barry Wain | The Age, Australia

The last time Malaysia’s former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was charged with sodomy, the country’s judicial system was on trial. This time around, the stakes are even higher.

If Anwar is convicted, in a case that opened in Kuala Lumpur’s High Court on Tuesday, Malaysians can wave goodbye to the best chance of developing a two-party political system in more than half a century.

It will also end any real prospect of Malaysia extricating itself from corrosive race-based politics, and signal the former British territory’s continued descent into self-destructive extremism.

Over the past two years, the charismatic Anwar, 62, has achieved what many analysts thought was impossible. He has tacked together three disparate political parties and formed a credible – if still fragile – opposition, representing hope for a multiracial future.
Continue reading “Malaysia on trial along with Anwar”

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There they go again

The opposition leader treads a familiar path into the dock
Feb 4th 2010 | BANGKOK | From The Economist print edition

SLINGING mud at opponents is a staple of most democracies, even if voters might prefer a more sensible debate. In Malaysia, a prudish, majority-Muslim country, it seems that nothing succeeds quite like below-the-belt personal attacks. For Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader and former deputy prime minister, who went on trial this week accused of sodomising a young male aide, the tactic is wearily familiar. In 1998 he was charged with the same crime, found guilty and jailed. Exonerated and freed, he has staged a comeback that another conviction might jeopardise.

Much has changed in Malaysia since Mr Anwar last took the stand. His nemesis, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, who presided over his downfall, has retired, if not exactly gracefully or quietly. The once-mighty United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which leads a 13-party multiracial governing coalition, looks increasingly vulnerable at a future election. A judiciary that was seen as beholden to its political masters has begun to assert its independence, and has sided with free-speech plaintiffs in prickly faith-related cases.

That independence will be put to the test in “Sodomy 2.0”, as Malaysia’s press has taken to calling Mr Anwar’s trial. His lawyers have pressed for the disclosure of prosecution evidence, including medical reports of the accuser, Saiful Bukhari. Continue reading “There they go again”

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Malaysia’s Democracy on Trial

By Chris Wright | Australian Financial Review, February 2 2010

When Anwar Ibrahim walks into the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, he will at least know what to expect.

Anwar, Malaysia’s one-time deputy prime minister and now the de facto leader of the first credible opposition in Malaysia’s independent history, is facing the third incarceration of his life. The first was a 22-month detention when a student leader in the 1970s; the second a six-year stint in 1998 for sodomy (overturned in 2004) and corruption, during the administration of his one-time mentor, Mahathir Mohamed. Now, he faces another sodomy charge, and the potential of 20 years in jail. Locally the press are calling it Sodomy II, like a sequel. “They use the same script,” he tells the AFR in an interview in his Kuala Lumpur offices. “I’ll leave it to the lawyers. I don’t have any trust in the system.”

That’s no surprise. Anwar’s trial represents an enormously significant moment for Malaysia, because it could make or break the opposition movement at a time of intense racial tension on a scale the country hasn’t seen since the race riots of the 1960s. Malaysia, though a sometimes uneasy patchwork of a Muslim Malay majority and significant Chinese and Indian minorities, has for decades been amongst the most moderate and peaceful of Muslim nations. Yet in recent months it has become a place where churches are firebombed over the right for Christians to use the word Allah, and where cows’ heads are kicked around outside Hindu temples.
Continue reading “Malaysia’s Democracy on Trial”

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Malaysia itself, not the opposition leader, is in the dock

Anwar’s Second Sodomy Trial | The Wall Street Journal
Malaysia itself, not the opposition leader, is in the dock.

More than a decade after he was beaten, tried and jailed, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will once again face a Kuala Lumpur court today on charges of sodomy. The accusations are highly dubious and raise a serious question: Is this moderate Muslim democracy becoming a nation with no real rule of law?

The circumstances surrounding Mr. Anwar’s prosecution are suspiciously familiar to most Malaysians. In 1998, he was arrested as he was mounting serious arguments against the increasingly erratic government of United Malays National Organization chief Mahathir Mohamed. On a nearby page, Mr. Anwar’s former aide Munawar Anees describes being tortured and forced to confess to sodomy, a criminal offense in Malaysia. Mr. Anwar was convicted of sodomy and abuse of power and served six years in jail before the sodomy ruling was overturned in 2004. He was allowed to run for political office again in 2008, which he did, in earnest.

Mr. Anwar was arrested again in July 2008, a day after participating in his first nationally televised debate in more than a decade—an event that showcased his political skills and highlighted the growing momentum behind his three-party opposition coalition. He was accused of sodomy with a 23-year-old former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Mr. Saiful was taken into protective police custody after he made his allegation and has since rarely been seen in public. The government denies any political motivation for the charges. Mr. Saiful himself has not been charged.

As in 1998, the evidence in this case is thin at best. The police made a show of arresting Mr. Anwar, put him in jail for a night, and forced him to undergo a humiliating medical “examination.” The government then passed a bill in parliament to give the police expanded powers to collect DNA in criminal cases. Mr. Anwar’s lawyers claim they have a hospital report that shows no sodomy occurred.
Continue reading “Malaysia itself, not the opposition leader, is in the dock”

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Anwar And Najib – Up Close and Very Revealing

by M. Bakri Musa

The side-by-side commentaries by Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Razak in the recent Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal illuminated a couple of salient points, in particular, the state of Malaysian journalism and the quality of our leadership.

Consider first Malaysian editors, specifically of the mainstream media. They missed the essential point that the best way to intelligently inform their readers is to present them with contrasting and opposing viewpoints, as illustrated by what The Journal did. Respect your readers’ intelligence and treat them like adults.

Bernama mentioned the Journal’s articles as a news item but referred only to Najib’s piece. Obviously the Bernama editors’ instinct was to please Najib and protect his image. They see themselves less as professional journalists and more as propagandists for the state. Their reaction was predictable.

That the cue from Bernama was quickly picked up by the other mainstream editors too did not surprise me. They are after all from the same mold. What grabbed my attention however, was what the Sun Daily did. I remember that paper as one that had the courage right from the beginning to be a tad independent, and its journalists less willing to genuflect to the powerful; hence its success despite its recent entry into the business.

The Sun merely reprinted Bernama’s piece, again with no mention of Anwar’s contrasting viewpoint. The Sun’s editors had access to both commentaries (they are available on-line) but chose to follow Bernama’s lead instead of their own editorial judgment. That reflects the challenges in maintaining journalistic integrity in an oppressive environment.
Continue reading “Anwar And Najib – Up Close and Very Revealing”

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In the beginning he was DPM!

by Hussein Hamid

What was Anwar’s biggest contribution to what we are today? I sat and ponder over this question the whole day today. I wanted to write about it and yet I cannot because there were so many thoughts that came and went inside me. All I could do today was about two half page – notes on times go by – Cakap cakap about AP and then I revisited the “Bentong car park” issue because one of our friends sent me something new about that car park. It is now 11.42pm and I have been thinking since 7.15am this morning….fifteen minutes ago it hit me! I believe that what Anwar did to me and to many of us can be conceptualised in two words:

“POLITICAL AWAKENING”

Before Anwar was dismissed by Mahatir I was a Bumiputra intent on pursuing my “rights” as a Bumiputra. The right to have a share in the perceived richness brought into the consciousness of the Malays as a result of the New Economic Policies. All that was in my mind was where the next ringgit was going to be found. Tenders, project proposals, pink slips, AP’s, IPO, licenses, Privatisation opportunities…life was a whirl of meetings and discussions in five star hotels and lunches in restaurants whose name you find hard to pronounce – Troika was one of those that I can still remember – in Jalan Raja Chulan. The evenings were again another whirl of coffee houses and meetings until the early mornings. Continue reading “In the beginning he was DPM!”

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Anwar Ibrahim – he cannot sing he cannot dance….

By Hussein Hamid

Anwar Ibrahim was born in August 1947. Me in October 1947. Two months separates us at birth-enough for me to be able to say that he is older, but possibly two or three lifetimes separates us knowing what he has gone through in his life.

I remember the time when I wanted to meet up with him to find out what he was doing with his life. He was then teaching at one of the shop houses along Jalan Pantai – possible with Adabi if I am not mistaken. I did find him and he was indeed teaching and in slippers. At home that evening I casually told my father that I had met Anwar that afternoon. My father was then Director of CID. He stopped, looked at me and said sternly “Engkau tak ada kerja lain?” Whenever my father uses “engkau” when addressing me I knew that he was not amused. And he then went on to lecture me as to why it would be in my best interest to keep away from Anwar!
Continue reading “Anwar Ibrahim – he cannot sing he cannot dance….”

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Anwar a traitor?

By Hussein Hamid

If like Anwar I am call a traitor for denouncing UMNO as failing to defend the special rights of the Malays and the Monarchy then let me stand beside Anwar and be a traitor.

UMNO defending the rights of the Monarchy? Was it not your President Mahathir who stripped away the legal privileges of the Sultans – the hereditary and cultural symbols of the Malays? The Sultans to whom we all go for protection against political and administrative excesses? And then you all have the audacity to put yourself on the same level as we had once had placed the Sultans on – but this time giving the Malays no access to protection from the excesses you have indulged in and now continue to indulge at the expense of the Malays? I did not hear of any Sultan taking Ringgit $500 million for services rendered. I did not hear of Sultans using the Police to impose their will upon the Malays. I did not hear of Sultans blowing up foreign nationals. I did not hear of Sultans willing to allow the Malays to suffer economically as they do in Kelantan, just because the people in that state choose to have, as their government, a party that is not UMNO.

And you call us traitors to the Malay cause? Are the people in Kelantan not Malays?
Continue reading “Anwar a traitor?”

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The Court of Appeal’s “outline of reasons” in Anwar Ibrahim v P P – a critique

By NH Chan

I must apologize for the delay in giving this critique. The Court of Appeal gave its decision on July 1. I received the “outline of reasons” from Ngan Siong Hing only last Friday, 17 July 2009. Without him supplying me with a copy of the judgment of the Court of Appeal I would not be able to write this critique. Also as I do not have access to a law library I depend a lot on his generosity to get the legal material that I need to write my essays for ordinary people to understand what the judges are talking about. This is to enable the common people of this country to judge the judges for themselves.

The whole case can be understood just by readings 418A(l) and (2) and s376(l) and (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Power corrupts

David Pannick in his book Judges, OUP, 1987, wrote, p 76:

In all societies throughout history, judges have occasionally been adversely affected by their power. An early example occurs in the biblical story of Daniel and Susanna. Two elders of the community were appointed to serve as judges. They saw Susanna walking in her husband’s garden ‘and they were obsessed with lust for her’. When she resisted their advances they falsely accused her of infidelity to her husband. ‘As they were elders of the people and judges, the assembly believed them and condemned her to death.’ A young man named Daniel protested that an enquiry should be made into the judges’ allegations. He accused them of giving ‘unjust decisions, condemning the innocent and acquitting the guilty’. Under his careful cross-examination, the judges were proved to be liars: Daniel and Susanna in The Apocrypha.

The English Bench has had its fair share of bad judges. . . .In the seventeenth century, the Bench ‘was cursed by a succession of ruffians in ermine [most notably Jeffreys and Scroggs (Sir William)], who, for the sake of court [royal] favour, violated the principles of law, the precepts of religion, and the dictates of humanity’: John Lord Campbell, Lives of the Lord Chancellors (5th edn, 1868), vol 4, p 416.

The misuse of power from whatever quarter it may come

In The Family Story, Butterworths, 1981, Lord Denning said, p 179:
Continue reading “The Court of Appeal’s “outline of reasons” in Anwar Ibrahim v P P – a critique”

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May There Be Many More Such Encounters!

by M. Bakri Musa

I congratulate Ustaz Sheikh Mahmud for bringing Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim together recently for a luncheon honoring Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. I also applaud Anwar and Abdullah for their very public display of civility towards each other on that occasion.

Along the same vein, I am pleased to see on the last day of the UMNO General Assembly Tun Mahathir and Abdullah Badawi shaking hands. Despite the many harsh exchanges between them recently, at least they could still manage a brief show of courtesy. Supporters and commentators may read many things on that, but the fact they could bury their personal differences even if only momentarily is praiseworthy enough.

Such public gestures of cordiality and mutual respect are sadly lacking in our society today. As with everything else, we could only change that if we have some very visible examples set by our leaders. We can do without such obscene displays as when a supposedly “Honorable Member” calling the Deputy Prime Minister a murderer in the hallowed hall of Parliament, or the Minister of Education branding the leader of the Opposition “a traitor to Malays!” Splendid example for our school children!

I wish academics as well as heads of NGOs, think tanks, and professional bodies would emulate Sheikh Mahmud. They too should bring together our leaders to discuss issues that deeply affect us in settings other than the political arena. Continue reading “May There Be Many More Such Encounters!”

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Abdullah’s warning against return of Mahathirism – Will Najib scotch talk of imminent ISA arrest of Anwar?

In his farewell Umno Presidential speech today, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi confirms his image as a basically decent and humble person who unfortunately could not translate his good instincts into government policy, measures and actions resulting in his being prematurely and ignominiously forced out by his own party and becoming the shortest-serving Prime Minister of the country.

Why is this so?

The fault cannot be borne by Abdullah alone, but must be on the shoulders of the rest of Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships, for failing to give Abdullah the necessary support, and in many cases, for actively sabotaging him in the past five years to frustrate Abdullah from walking the talk of long overdue national reforms.

As a result, Abdullah could not even salvage and accomplish the minimalist legacy of reform he had hoped to leave behind before stepping down as Prime Minister – when the last of the trio of his final reform legislative programme, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) Bill, had to be again deferred although it was meant to be the “crown jewel” of Abdullah’s last parliamentary meeting lasting 22 days from Feb. 16 which ended yesterday.

Even the first two of the trio of his minimalist reform legislation – the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) Act and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Act – have proved to be great disappointments and letdowns, but Abdullah seemed to have abandoned whatever is left of his reformist zeal in his last three months in office. Continue reading “Abdullah’s warning against return of Mahathirism – Will Najib scotch talk of imminent ISA arrest of Anwar?”

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AG, IGP ‘cleared’ in black-eye case

by Rahmah Ghazali and S Pathmawathy
Mar 11, 09
Malaysiakini

Attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail and inspector-general of police Musa Hassan have both been cleared of any criminal involvement in Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s black-eye case, according to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He was replying to Gobind Singh-Deo (DAP-Puchong) as to why no action has been taken by the authorities after Anwar had lodged reports with the police and the then Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) last July.

Subsequently, the ACA – now called the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission – set up an independent panel to probe the case.

The panel members were Kadir Sulaiman, Wira Mohd Nor and Ahmad Nor Abdullah – all former judges from the Federal Court and Court of Appeal. Continue reading “AG, IGP ‘cleared’ in black-eye case”