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In the court of public opinion, is Putrajaya or Umno fighting Anwar?

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
18 February 2015

There is a very fine line, between defending one’s party and excoriating political opponents in the battle for the hearts and minds of the electorate. And all the more so when it comes to a criminal case.

Sixteen years ago, the prosecution led by then Attorney-General, Tan Sri Mokhtar Abdullah and aided by Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, presented the state’s evidence against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and got him convicted and jailed for sodomy and abuse of power.

Umno and specifically then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was blamed for that episode. It cost the ruling Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) Terengganu in the 1999 general election.

But there was no roadshows to debunk political conspiracy theories by Anwar’s supporters. None. The prosecutors did their job and that was that, no matter the international outrage, public opprobrium and the weekend public protests.
Last week, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s verdict to convict and jail Anwar for five years in another sodomy case. Again, Anwar said it was a political ploy to keep him and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) from capturing Putrajaya.

Again, there was international outrage, public opprobrium but not much public protests as most vented their spleen online and got back to their ordinary lives.

But this time, it was Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah who led the prosecution at both the Court of Appeal and Federal Court levels. And this time, Umno decided to take Shafee on a roadshow to explain the verdict. Continue reading “In the court of public opinion, is Putrajaya or Umno fighting Anwar?”

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Najib should make a ministerial statement when Parliament reconvenes on March 10 on the actual status, job specification and remuneration paid to former APCO Malaysia boss Paul Stadlen to mastermind the Prime Minister’s communications

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should make a ministerial statement when Parliament reconvenes on March 10 on the actual status, job specification and remuneration paid to former APCO Malaysia boss Paul Stadlen to mastermind the Prime Minister’s communications operations.

I have also sent in a specific oral question to the Prime Minister asking him to confirm the veracity of a report in the Sarawak Report website that Paul Stadlen is being paid millions of ringgit to mastermind his communications policy, and whether the Paul Stadlen outfit was responsible of the infamous 109-word three-paragraph statement in the name of the Prime Minister’s Office that was issued of February 10 praising the Federal Court’s decision dismissing Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal in Sodomy II, not only within minutes of the two-hour delivery of the judgment by the Chief Justice, Tun Arifin Zakaria but before the sentence was passed!

Many questions cry out for answer.

Firstly, are there no local public relations and communications experts who could be entrusted with the responsibility of masterminding Najib’s communications policy, especially as it has been reported that Stadlen’s firm was retained by the PMO at a minimum of RM3 million a year and was also commissioned for a 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-related project worth another RM1.5 million? Continue reading “Najib should make a ministerial statement when Parliament reconvenes on March 10 on the actual status, job specification and remuneration paid to former APCO Malaysia boss Paul Stadlen to mastermind the Prime Minister’s communications”

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Anwar will not be forgotten

– P. Ramakrishnan
The Malaysian Insider
18 February 2015

We are here to send a clear message that opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will not be forgotten. What he stood for and fought for will not be forgotten. The injustice and abuse that was inflicted on him will not be forgotten.

If anything, all this will be remembered and kept alive. And someone will pay for it. There is no doubt about it.

Whether inside or outside prison, Anwar is a force to be reckoned with. Charismatic and effective leaders will not disappear from the consciousness of the nation or from the memory of grateful citizens.

They locked up Gandhi and Martin Luther King many times. But they could not stifle what they stood for; they could not prevent their ideas and struggle from perpetuating on their own steam.

You can imprison a man but you cannot imprison his spirit; you cannot imprison his ideas; you cannot imprison the ideals he stands for.

So it will be with Anwar! No force or power can halt this determined struggle to bring about a change in government. Continue reading “Anwar will not be forgotten”

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Malaysia’s retreat from modernity

Rakyat Times/The Australian
18 February 2015

While Malaysia’s charismatic opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was being jailed for five years for sodomy on Tuesday last week, the country’s Prime Minister, Najib Razak, was participating in the nearby launch of an index to assess levels of compliance to sharia law.

Najib said he hoped the government’s own sharia observance would become “a culture of collective practice”.

Two years ago he became the first non-Arab government head to visit Gaza. At a joint press conference with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Najib said he came “to express my solidarity with the Palestinian people”.

A few weeks earlier, he had told a New York audience: “The problem in today’s world is not between Christians, Muslims or Jews but it’s really between the extremists and democracy.”

He said “moderation is, you know, based on certain principles and very sound values, like justice. It calls for us to be bold enough to occupy the centre stage and the moral high ground.”

He responded in part to the recent Charlie Hebdo slayings: “If you criticise other religions because of freedom, it will have severe repercussions.”

Anwar’s jailing – widely condemned by foreign governments including Australia and the US, and by legal and human rights org­anisations – raises questions about which is the real Najib, the real Malaysia, about how moderate, democratic and ultimately modern the country truly is. Continue reading “Malaysia’s retreat from modernity”

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Sodomy II is not Saiful v Anwar

– Nawawi Mohamad
The Malaysian Insider
18 February 2015

To everyone who thought that Sodomy II is the case of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim versus his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan – you got it wrong.

Sodomy II is Umno versus Anwar. Saiful is just the pawn who played his part and after the first stage of the plan to jail Anwar was accomplished, the next stage and the rest of the stages were taken care of by Umno.

Everyone in the team against Anwar – the police, doctors, chemist and judges – are government servants appointed by the arms of the Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) government. Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was also under the government’s payroll. So could they really be fair and independent?

We have witnessed a concerted effort during the trial of the Altantuya murder case that no one asked the duo Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri who gave the order to kill and get the motive of the murder despite knowing that they were paid to kill.

Similarly the whole exercise in the Sodomy II trial, everyone wanted to make sure that every event, evidence, person and witness involved, no matter what, must lead to the jailing of Anwar. Continue reading “Sodomy II is not Saiful v Anwar”

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DAP’s SSS (Support Sympathy Solidarity) Anwar Ceramah has 3SAVE objectives – to save Anwar from prison, to save Pakatan Rakyat from disintegration and to save Malaysia from becoming a “failed state”

This is the third DAP SSS (Support Sympathy Solidarity) Anwar Ibrahim Ceramah, the first in Taman Cheras Jaya in Selangor on Sunday and the second at the Han Chiang School Hall in Penang last night.

DAP proposes to organize hundreds of SSS Anwar ceramahs, vigils, gatherings and events throughout the country in the next three years before the 14th General Elections with 3Save objectives – firstly, to save Anwar from prison, secondly to save Pakatan Rakyat from disintegration and thirdly, to save Malaysia from becoming a “failed state”.

Anwar has exhausted the judicial process and lost out when the Federal Court returned a shocking 5-0 unanimous decision to dismiss Anwar’s appeal, as even the most pessimistic about Anwar’s chances believing that he would lose in the Federal Court appeal had expected either a 3-2 verdict or at worst a 4-1 decision.

Everybody was floored by the unanimous 5-0 decision. There were not only no dissenting judgment, there was no other judgment from the five-member Federal Court quorum, apart from the single judgment by the Chief Justice, Tun Arifin Zakaria!

Anwar may have lost in the courts of the Malaysian judiciary, but he has won two battles in the first week of his five-year jail sentence – firstly, the court of public opinion in Malaysia and secondly, the court of international opinion, as it will not be easy to find another Federal Court judgment in the past two decades which had met with such instant universal condemnation, not only inside the country but also outside. Continue reading “DAP’s SSS (Support Sympathy Solidarity) Anwar Ceramah has 3SAVE objectives – to save Anwar from prison, to save Pakatan Rakyat from disintegration and to save Malaysia from becoming a “failed state””

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From Sodomy I to Sodomy II – Malaysia regressing to the darkness and repression 17 years ago when the country should be moving forward to greater freedom, justice, prosperity and confidence after the passage of almost two decades

Wishing all Malaysian Chinese as well as Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, a Happy Chinese New Year as it is now a festivity celebrated by all Malaysians regardless of race and religion.

Chinese New Year, which begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice, has been described as the most important holiday for Chinese people worldwide.

In China, it is marked by the world’s largest annual human migrations with 2.8 billion trips made across the country in the mass exodus of students, migrant labourers, factory workers and office employees making their long journeys home to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year in Malaysia has become a very Malaysian affair, despite its ethnic origins and associations.

In Malaysia, the Chinese New Year is also marked by major human migrations, but not confined to the Chinese as it affects other ethnic groups as well.

Many issues will jostle for top attention among Malaysians during the Chinese New Year. Continue reading “From Sodomy I to Sodomy II – Malaysia regressing to the darkness and repression 17 years ago when the country should be moving forward to greater freedom, justice, prosperity and confidence after the passage of almost two decades”

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With old guards bowing out, how will Barisan and Pakatan change?

BY ANISAH SHUKRY
The Malaysian Insider
17 February 2015

Old guards in Malaysia’s political parties are slowly leaving the scene paving the way for younger leaders to come forward, but between the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the pace of rejuvenation differs vastly.

Both sides have hugely respected and influential stalwarts but the number has dwindled down to one each – in BN, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is the sole veteran still in active politics as Gua Musang MP and in PR, Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang is still DAP adviser.

In PR, there is potential now for younger leaders to rise and develop even more responsibilities with the passing of PAS’s Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and DAP’s Karpal Singh, as well as the incarceration of PKR de factor leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In BN, party’s top posts are filled with second-generation leaders, such as Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Umno president and prime minister, and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, an Umno vice-president and defence minister.

But the crucial difference between the two coalitions was that with BN, the party’s rejuvenation process seems to have come to an abrupt stop with Najib’s generation, while in PR, younger leaders continue to join the coalition and rise up the ranks, analysts said. Continue reading “With old guards bowing out, how will Barisan and Pakatan change?”

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Call on all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters to save Pakatan Rakyat from latest UMNO/BN wiles by uniting behind a Eight-Year PR Roadmap to save Anwar

I call on all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters to unite to save Pakatan Rakyat from the latest UMNO/Barisan Nasional (BN) wiles to sow discord and distrust among Pakatan Rakyat parties and leaders with the agenda to divide and destroy the most formidable challenge the ruling coalition had ever to face in its history.

The latest UMNO/BN gambit is to fully exploit Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s five-year incarceration and the passing of Tok Guru Nik Aziz resulting in two by-elections, the Permatang Pauh parliamentary and the Kelantan Chempaka State Assembly by-elections, with UMNO staying out of the Chempaka by-election but going all out in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.

This will be a revival of the plot by certain UMNO schemers and strategists to promote the UG concept or “unity government” of UMNO and PAS, but which have not been able to make much headway to date because of the staunch and uncompromising opposition from Nik Aziz.

To these UMNO schemers and strategists, the death of Nik Aziz brings new hope for their dormant “UG” conspiracy.

I am very intrigued however as what the promoters of “UG government” really meant, when it is obvious to all that there is no unity in UMNO itself, with former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir going all out to topple Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Umno President and Prime Minister of Malaysia. Continue reading “Call on all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters to save Pakatan Rakyat from latest UMNO/BN wiles by uniting behind a Eight-Year PR Roadmap to save Anwar”

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Standing ovation for Nurul Nuha at maiden ceramah in Penang

BY LOOI SUE-CHERN
The Malaysian Insider
17 February 2015

Nurul Nuha Anwar received a standing ovation and cheers when she arrived at her first ceramah in Penang last night.

The crowd of more than 500 people stood up and clapped when they saw her walk into the Han Chiang school hall, where a tribute was being held for her father.

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who was addressing the crowd, had to stop when Nurul Nuha, the second daughter of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, walked in.

They cheered loudly, drowning out Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu.

Nurul Nuha, the soft-spoken 31-year-old, stumbled a little at the beginning of her maiden speech in Penang, her father’s home state, but the crowd cheered her on.

She began by telling the crowd she had a message from her father. Continue reading “Standing ovation for Nurul Nuha at maiden ceramah in Penang”

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Malaysia’s worst week ever for credibility and integrity of the administration of justice in the country

The past week starting with the Federal Court’s dismissal of Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II appeal on Tuesday 10th February is likely to be the country’s worst week ever for credibility and integrity of the administration of justice in Malaysia.

The Federal Court’s 5-0 unanimous decision to dismiss Anwar’s appeal has come as a great surprise, even to those who had never entertained high hopes that Anwar could get off unscathed in his latest encounter with selective and even malicious prosecution.

But even the most pessimistic had expected either a 3-2 verdict or at worst a 4-1 decision, but everybody was floored by a unanimous 5-0 judgment.

What further stumped the legal and judicial fraternity, as well as the general public, was that there was only judgment by the Chief Justice, Tun Arifin Zakaria, when the public expectation was more than one judgment, even five judgments! Continue reading “Malaysia’s worst week ever for credibility and integrity of the administration of justice in the country”

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UMNO/BN may stay out of Chempaka by-election in Kelantan to create disunity and distrust among Pakatan Rakyat parties while going all out in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election

With the five-year jail sentence for Anwar Ibrahim upheld by the Federal Court on the day of infamy of February 10, 2015 (Tuesday), and the passing of Tok Guru Nik Aziz on Thursday night, two by-elections for the parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh and the Kelantan State Assembly seat of Chempaka are shaping up.

However, the UMNO leadership is already orchestrating a new plot to try to further undermine Pakatan Rakyat and foment disunity and distrust among the PR parties through the ploy of UMNO/BN staying out of the Chempaka by-election in Kelantan while going all out in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.

UMNO leaders like the Umno Kelantan Chairman Datuk Mustapa Mohamad, the UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin and even the Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong have been given the “green light” to sound out in public the proposal that UMNO/BN should stay out of the Chempaka by-election, giving all sorts of grand-sounding reasons to camouflage the political design behind such a move. Continue reading “UMNO/BN may stay out of Chempaka by-election in Kelantan to create disunity and distrust among Pakatan Rakyat parties while going all out in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election”

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Federal Court’s 5-0 conviction of Anwar for Sodomy II lost in two higher courts – the court of opinion in Malaysia and the court of international opinion worldwide

The Federal Court’s 5-0 conviction of Anwar Ibrahim for Sodomy II on Tuesday, February 10, has lost in two higher courts – the court of opinion in Malaysia and the court of international opinion worldwide.

Tonight’s capacity-crowd turnout and the pain and sorrow felt by Malaysians in the past five days at the Federal Court’s dismissal of Anwar’s appeal and upholding the five-year jail sentence on the 67-year Parliamentary Opposition Leader are proof that Malaysians generally do not find any credibility in the the Federal Court’s verdict.

In the international court of opinion, Malaysia had been in the dock in the past week. Continue reading “Federal Court’s 5-0 conviction of Anwar for Sodomy II lost in two higher courts – the court of opinion in Malaysia and the court of international opinion worldwide”

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No hope for justice, says teary Wan Azizah

By Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
Feb 15, 2015

There was silence and sadness in the air as Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said between tears, “I never thought I would go through this ordeal again”.

Addressing more than 1,000 supporters in Seberang Jaya last night, Azizah said she has lost weight since her husband Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to five years jail for sodomy on Tuesday.

The PKR president apologised for being rather emotional in her speech at the ‘Freedom of the People’ ceramah organised by the Penang government to honour Anwar, the Permatang Pauh MP.

“But here I am, tested again. Never mind, I am willing but this does not mean that I can accept it,” she said Continue reading “No hope for justice, says teary Wan Azizah”

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Barisan once dangled DPM post if Anwar ditched Pakatan, says Nurul Izzah

by Looi Sue-Chern
The Malaysian Insider
15 February 2015

Barisan Nasional (BN) once offered the deputy prime minister’s post to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim if he abandoned Pakatan Rakyat (PR) which had won 52% of the popular vote in 2013, his daughter said last night.

PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar told a ceramah in Penang that the offer was made during post-election reconciliatory talks.

“He was told to ignore PKR’s allies, PAS and DAP. Accept the offer, form a government… ‘que sera sera’ (whatever will be, will be), ‘kita bergembira bersama-sama’ (we be happy together).

“What decision did he make? He rejected the offer to the end because it dealt with the life and death of our struggles. As a coalition, we can only work together as long as it is based on principles,” she said at the ceramah in the Seberang Jaya expo site in Permatang Pauh where Anwar is the MP. Continue reading “Barisan once dangled DPM post if Anwar ditched Pakatan, says Nurul Izzah”

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Anwar back in jail but problems mount for Najib

The Malaysian Insider
15 February 2015

The biggest political threat to the Malaysian government is behind bars after a court upheld a sodomy conviction for opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but more thorny problems confront Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Anwar, jailed for five years on Tuesday on a charge he called politically motivated, has for years represented the greatest challenge to Najib’s coalition, which has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957.

The bespectacled former finance minister and deputy prime minister cemented a three-party opposition alliance which took on the coalition at the last polls in 2013, costing the ruling bloc the popular vote in its worst-ever electoral performance.

Deserted at the polls by ethnic minority Chinese and urban voters, Najib’s party will now face the fallout of sharper polarisation over Anwar’s jailing, amid widespread perceptions that his prosecution was motivated by political vengeance. Continue reading “Anwar back in jail but problems mount for Najib”

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Malaysia without Anwar Ibrahim

Gwynne Dyer
Straight.com
February 13th, 2015

Does democracy in Malaysia really depend on Anwar Ibrahim? If it does, Malaysia’s 30 million people are in trouble.

Anwar is back in jail: at least five years’ imprisonment, and another five years’ ban from political activity after that.

He says he doesn’t care: “Whether it’s five years or 10 it doesn’t matter to me anymore. They can give me 20 years. I don’t give a damn.”

But of course he cares. By the time he’s free to resume his role as opposition leader, he’ll be at least 77. The People’s Alliance, the three-party opposition coalition that he created, can’t afford to wait 10 years for him to be free. The real question is whether they can stay together without him as leader. Continue reading “Malaysia without Anwar Ibrahim”

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Malaysia’s dark side

Banyan
Economist
Feb 14th 2015

The jailing of Anwar Ibrahim is a setback for the whole country, not just the opposition

AFTER taking an inexplicable four months to make up its mind, Malaysia’s highest court on February 10th came up with the verdict its critics said had been scripted for it all along. It rejected an appeal by Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader, against his conviction on a charge of sodomy—of having sex in 2008 with a young man who had worked for him. It upheld the five-year jail sentence imposed last March. Since a prison term also entails a five-year ban after release from running for political office, this would rule Mr Anwar out of the next two general elections. And since he is 67, it might mark the end of his political career.

The three-party coalition he heads, Pakatan Rakyat, poses the most serious threat the United Malays National Organisation, UMNO, has faced in its nearly six decades of continuous rule. But the opposition depends heavily on Mr Anwar’s leadership, so his sentence sounds like good news for the prime minister, Najib Razak. Celebration, however, would be short-sighted. Continue reading “Malaysia’s dark side”

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Justice and truth in Anwar’s case

Anwar did not have to prove his innocence; it was for the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

By Gerard Lourdesamy | February 12, 2015
Free Malaysia Today

After 22 years at the Bar, I have never failed to be amazed by the development and exposition of the law by our superior courts. Their ingenuity and diligence ought to be commended. Their decisions deserve respect not least because of their consistency and predictability.

The judgment of the Federal Court in Anwar Ibrahim’s final appeal against his conviction for sodomy comes as no surprise to many of us.

The purpose of a criminal trial is to do justice. The role of the prosecutor is not to seek a conviction at all costs but to ensure that justice is done to both the victim and the accused. The process has to be fair and impartial. The golden thread that runs through our system of criminal justice is the presumption of innocence. The accused does not have to prove his innocence. It is for the prosecution to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The benefit of any doubt must be given to the accused. But the doubt must be a rational and not improbable doubt.

Consent is not required for a charge under Section 377A of the Penal Code, implying that this section deals with cases of consensual unnatural sex. Section 377C of the Code deals specifically with unnatural sex without consent and by implication it may involve some element of force or violence. That is why a heavier penalty is imposed by this section on offenders. Continue reading “Justice and truth in Anwar’s case”