By Kazi Mahmood, IOL South East Asia correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (IslamOnline) - The fate of former Malaysian deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was decided Wednesday morning, July 10, with the guilty verdict retained and Ibrahim to remain in jail for another 10 years.

For the hundreds who assembled at the Federal Court Wednesday, the appeal judge’s decision to maintain the guilty verdict was unfair and will be detrimental to Malaysia’s justice system. But for Ibrahim’s opponents, it confirms their faith in a system that has met with international criticism.

Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Steve Shim and Federal Court Judge Haidar Mohd Noor, on Wednesday unanimously hammered down the guilty verdict.

In his response to the verdict, Ibrahim told the court that the decision was a “horrendous betrayal of the public confidence in the judiciary.”

Ibrahim condemned the judiciary for its “charade” and for trying to portray itself as having transparency.

“This is all based on instructions from above,” he said.

Proceedings started with Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah appearing in the courtroom to pronounce the judgment without reading the full 56-page written decision.

The public in the gallery refused to stand up as a mark of respect for Dzaiddin when he was about to leave the room after reading the verdict. Angry members of the crowd said he tarnished his image, the image of the country and that of the judiciary when he delivered the verdict.

Reading the verdict, the judge said: “Suffice for me to state here that from the grounds [of judgment] from the court below, errors of law have not occasioned,” said Dzaiddin, who promised there will be changes in the Malaysian judiciary when he took over a year ago.

He added that a miscarriage of justice had not taken place and dismissed Ibrahim’s appeal, much to the shock of the supporters and Ibrahim’s family who were present at the courthouse.

After the reading of the verdict, the crowd shouted “Reformasi” or (Reforms) in signs of protest and anger. Many in the crowd said there were no hope left for justice in Malaysia.

When asked why they had such sentiments, they said they expected a “not guilty” verdict. They added that the entire world was expecting such a verdict. Some linked the verdict to what they called “the show by Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian Premier in June that he wanted to resign.”

Regarding how the resignation factor could affect the decision on Anwar Ibrahim, some supporters of the Keadilaan Party (Justice Party) told IslamOnline it was obvious “When Mahathir threatened to resign, his cronies knew they will be left at the hands of Anwar Ibrahim if he is freed.

“Mahathir is still Malaysia’s prime minister. If he was not anymore maybe the judgment would be different,” they said.

Without much to substantiate the claims of Ibrahim’s supporters, it is clear however that the verdict on Wednesday will make bad headlines for Malaysia.

The United States, some Commonwealth countries and even some South East Asian governments have in the past, urged the Malaysian government to give a fair retrial to Ibrahim.

Mahathir Mohamad sacked Ibrahim, who was the second most important man in Malaysia as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, in September 1998. Soon after wards, armed and masked police officers belonging to a special squad attacked Anwar Ibrahim’s house and hijacked him from his family and supporters to an undisclosed location.

Ibrahim was then brought to court weeks later with the famous black eye that became the symbol of the Justice Party, the party headed by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of Ibrahim.

Ibrahim was sentenced to 15 years in jail. The first time in 1999 when he was found guilty for corrupt practices. It is this verdict that has been upheld on Wednesday. He was later sentenced to 9 years for sodomy.