|
Malaysia Clears Anwar Ibrahim Lawyer Of Contempt
KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - In a surprise judgment on Thursday, the Malaysian Federal Court dismissed a three-month jail term for contempt of court upon opposition member and Anwar Ibrahim lawyer Zainur Zakaria.
The opposition was overtly pleased concerning the ruling and observers state they have started seeing a change of heart on the part of the judiciary in Malaysia towards Ibrahim's case, IslamOnline was told in Kuala Lumpur.
This ruling is the third major pro-opposition ruling in two months that has uneased the judiciary and ruling coalition government led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Government-controlled media gave room to large extracts of the ruling delivered on Thursday after Federal Court judges decided to hear an appeal by Zakaria.
The panel of three judges also "roasted" High Court Judge Augustine Paul, famous for raising numerous objections during jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's court hearings in 1999.
They said Paul behaved more like a prosecutor rather than a judge in Zakaria's case. Zakaria was defending Ibrahim in a corruption and abuse of power case at the time.
Lawyers in Kuala Lumpur said the court's lambasting of Paul by the three appeal judges indicated that the Malaysian judiciary was reasserting its independence.
The heavily packed courtroom exploded in joy and applause as the judgment was delivered, setting Zakaria free from the jail sentence.
The appeal itself was over a finding during Ibrahim's corruption trial in 1998. Justice Paul had found Zakaria guilty of contempt for failing to apologize to the court after he filed an application on behalf of Anwar seeking to remove prosecutors Abdul Gani Patail and Azhar Mohamed. They were accused of attempting to concoct a plan to fabricate evidence against Ibrahim. Their aim was to present this evidence to support claims of alleged sexual misconduct against Ibrahim.
Earlier, the High Court had found Zakaria guilty and sentenced him to three months in jail. A previous Zakaria appeal on the ruling to the Court was dismissed last year.
Federal Court judges Steven Shim, Abdul Malek Ahmad and Haidar Mohamed Noor, felt Zakaria was merely doing his job and that he should have been given a chance to defend himself, which he did not have in the High Court.
"I think this is the first time that an application to disqualify prosecutors has landed a lawyer in trouble," said Justice Haidar.
Justice Abdul Malek, for his part, commented on Justice Paul saying that Zakaria was not given time to prepare his defense and that events show the judge had abused hi authority in the proceedings.
The Federal Court judge said Augustine Paul acted as though he was arguing on behalf of the prosecution.
The Straits Times newspaper in Singapore reported that some politicians find it understandable that some judges desire to show exuberance and prove they are not under the control of the government.
"Others are concerned that in their keenness to show independence, some judges may lose their impartiality along the way," the paper wrote.
Nevertheless, the Malaysian government recently lambasted a judgment over a Sabah election fraud case. Mahathir Mohamad said the comments of the judge in the Sarawak case were detrimental to the judiciary.
Mahathir said High Court Judge Muhammad Kamil Awang tarnished the image of the courts by revealing he was directed by a superior judge to strike off two election petitions without a hearing.
"So now we have problems in trusting the courts because he [Muhammad Kamil] has now tarnished the image of the courts," an angry Mahathir said, adding that the judge should also have disqualified himself from hearing the petitions.
"Well, the judge knows if he should disqualify himself. When you have that problem, he should immediately say that I have been called [by another judge].
"Because if he is afraid of his boss, he can report to me," said Mahathir.
At the Kota Kinabalu High Court on June 8th, Muhammad Kamil revealed that an ex-chief directed him judge to abandon the case.
He then declared null and void the election of former Sabah chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee in 1999 state elections for the Likas state seat because the electoral roll used was illegal, and Yong had committed offences under the Election Act.
|
