|
Malaysia’s Anwar Faces More Charges
by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA (IslamOnline) - Former deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim may be dragged again to the courts in an un-ending saga of charges and trials.
The Attorney General of Malaysia on Saturday revealed Anwar is still facing five more charges that will only be reviewed after the two appeals on the two earlier convictions are done with.
Since Anwar lost his first appeal against his six-year jail sentence, he has appealed against a nine-year jail sentence for sodomy but has said that he has no faith that the appeal will be successful.
The Attorney General will decide whether to proceed with the new charges only after the end of the appeal process.
The courts have not fixed a date to hear the matter yet because the process has not been completed, according to the head of the prosecution division Abdul Gani Patail.
Attorney General Mohtar Abdullah told reporters in Putrajaya that the fixing of dates in the court was not within the purview of the AG's Chamber. The five extra charges involve four counts of sodomy and one of corruption.
Mohtar made the announcement after delivering a keynote speech at a conference for legal officers.
Anwar’s party, the National Justice Party (NJP), earlier said Malaysian authorities would do everything in their power to keep Anwar in jail for an indefinite period, effectively ending his political career.
The NJP believes the charges will not be dropped even if Anwar loses all his appeals and has to finish his jail sentence over a period of 15 years. “They will find ways and means to increase his jail sentencing. We will fight on political and democratic grounds to stop this process,” an NJP party official said.
Earlier this year, Anwar was found guilty on corruption and sodomy charges, and sentenced to jail for six and nine years respectively, to be served consecutively. The first verdict handed to Anwar triggered violent street protests that took nearly a week to subside.
“Anwar’s popularity in the public has not diminished. The recent rally three weeks ago is proof that the people of Malaysia, especially the Malays, are still behind the struggle of Anwar Ibrahim,” a letter sent to IslamOnline stated.
“The Anwar saga has put Malaysia in focus in the international press and has earned the country a reputation of mistrials and oppressive means to subdue the supporters of Mr. A. Ibrahim,” the letter continued.
It added that the former Finance Minister should be considered a political prisoner in Malaysia, something that Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian Premier strongly denies.
The opposition in Malaysia believes the jailed leader will be tried again once his appeals are over. “If Anwar was to win any of the appeals, he will be tried again. There is no doubt there. They just want to make sure he is discarded. Democracy in Malaysia will thus rot in jail for years,” the opposition official told IslamOnline.
On the other hand, Attorney General Mohtar stated that Anwar’s trials had severely "sapped the resources of the prosecution division".
"Nevertheless, I would like to stress that the AG's Chamber's decision to act or not, depends wholly on the police and the Anti-Corruption Agency. Nobody's above the law," he said concerning the resumption of court visits by Anwar in the future.
|
