Anwar acquittal leaves rivals looking good
Source: Agencies |
January 10, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MALAYSIAN opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's surprising acquittal from sodomy charges is good news not just for him - it is a gift for the very government he wants to topple.
The verdict will preempt public outrage that a conviction would have sparked in a likely election year and buttresses Prime Minister Najib Razak's claims that he does not interfere with the judiciary and that promises of ensuring civil liberties are serious.
After a two-year trial, a High Court judge took only two minutes to deliver the verdict yesterday. He ruled that the prosecution's DNA evidence was not enough to convict the 64-year-old Anwar of sodomizing a male former aide, who at the time was 23.
The judgment is "a win-win situation" for both sides, said James Chin, a political science lecturer at Monash University in Malaysia. "It has removed a hot spot for the government. Anwar is also free to concentrate on the elections," Chin said.
The verdict also will calm foreign investors spooked by the possibility of political unrest.
Anwar has long maintained that the charges were trumped up to prevent his opposition alliance from coming to power.
He was previously imprisoned for six years after being ousted as deputy prime minister in 1998 on charges of sodomizing his ex-driver and abusing power. Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia, but the law is seldom enforced.
He was freed in 2004 when the conviction was quashed.
After yesterday's ruling, Information Minister Rais Yatim said the acquittal "proves that the government does not hold sway over judges' decisions."
Anwar said it was just a government strategy to avoid having a mess on its hands, but that he was still "pleasantly shocked."
Thousands of supporters outside the court building cheered at news of the acquittal, while inside, Anwar's wife and children wept and hugged him and friends shouted "God is great."
Former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who accused Anwar of forcing him to have sex, said he respected the decision, but would "not accept defeat."
The verdict will preempt public outrage that a conviction would have sparked in a likely election year and buttresses Prime Minister Najib Razak's claims that he does not interfere with the judiciary and that promises of ensuring civil liberties are serious.
After a two-year trial, a High Court judge took only two minutes to deliver the verdict yesterday. He ruled that the prosecution's DNA evidence was not enough to convict the 64-year-old Anwar of sodomizing a male former aide, who at the time was 23.
The judgment is "a win-win situation" for both sides, said James Chin, a political science lecturer at Monash University in Malaysia. "It has removed a hot spot for the government. Anwar is also free to concentrate on the elections," Chin said.
The verdict also will calm foreign investors spooked by the possibility of political unrest.
Anwar has long maintained that the charges were trumped up to prevent his opposition alliance from coming to power.
He was previously imprisoned for six years after being ousted as deputy prime minister in 1998 on charges of sodomizing his ex-driver and abusing power. Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia, but the law is seldom enforced.
He was freed in 2004 when the conviction was quashed.
After yesterday's ruling, Information Minister Rais Yatim said the acquittal "proves that the government does not hold sway over judges' decisions."
Anwar said it was just a government strategy to avoid having a mess on its hands, but that he was still "pleasantly shocked."
Thousands of supporters outside the court building cheered at news of the acquittal, while inside, Anwar's wife and children wept and hugged him and friends shouted "God is great."
Former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who accused Anwar of forcing him to have sex, said he respected the decision, but would "not accept defeat."
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