Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim pleaded not guilty to sodomy charges and was released on bail Thursday, ahead of a by-election expected to return him to parliament this month. "This is a slander, it is a malicious allegation and I am not guilty," Anwar said from the dock after being accused of sodomising 23-year-old aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 26. Anwar, a former deputy premier who was jailed a decade ago on sodomy charges that were later overturned, has said the new allegations have been concocted by the government to prevent him from seizing power.
Despite fears he would not be given bail, Sessions Court judge Komathy Suppiah ordered Anwar could go free on a 20,000 ringgit (6,100 dollar) bond until the next hearing on September 10. Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is illegal in this conservative and predominantly Muslim nation, and carries a penalty of 20 years imprisonment. The charges indicated that the sex act was consensual. Mohamad Saiful has reportedly said it took place at an up-market Kuala Lumpur apartment. Anwar welcomed the bail decision, which allows him to campaign for the August 26 by-election, and said the prosecution had been ill-prepared. His wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who vacated her parliamentary seat in northern Penang state to make way for Anwar, condemned the charges as "politically motivated" and said her husband was innocent. Security was tight outside the packed courtroom, which was guarded by about 200 police -- mostly riot squad officers. About 400 opposition supporters massed peacefully outside. In anticipation of protests, major roads leading into the capital Kuala Lumpur were locked down with roadblocks, causing major traffic jams.
The timing of the allegations, after Anwar announced he would oust the government with the help of defectors in the wake of elections that handed the opposition a third of parliamentary seats, has raised fears of a conspiracy. There have been many Human Rights group that has voiced out their concern. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said Anwar's previous trials for sodomy and corruption, which landed him in jail for six years until 2004, "raised serious concerns about judicial independence and fairness." Amnesty International also expressed grave concern over the charges and said they appeared to be an attempt to prevent the 60-year-old opposition leader from re-entering parliament.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday denied Anwar's claims that the government had engineered the allegations saying that "the police are not so stupid to simply charge if there is no evidence." [End of report]
When I heard this news yesterday, I was understandably angry and disappointed because as you probably know already, Im an Anwar supporter. However, right now, I cant say whether Anwar is really guilty or not for the charges because to be honest with you, I dont really know the facts, hence I cant say who is telling the truth. On one hand, you have Anwar denying those sodomy charges while on the other hand, you have Mohamad Saiful saying he is guilty. Being an Anwar supporter myself though, of course I would be on his side regarding this matter and I would like to think that he is not guilty of any of those charges until there is some evidence that proves that he is really guilty, and currently, there has been no concrete evidence to prove that Anwar is guilty or whether Saiful is making up some story. That is why the judge has allowed Anwar to be bail out till the next hearing, which is in September 10. But the timing of the allegations though, just like what the report has said, is questionable. Anwar has said previously that he would contest in a by-election in his home state of Penang on August 26, and out of a sudden, there was a sodomy accusations against him, it does seem like it is more than a coincidence to me.
As you all know, during the election in March, the ruling coalition UMNO lost heavily and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi popularity have been declining ever since. And due to the election results, Anwar had plan to seize power with the help of government defectors and he needs to draw just 30 lawmakers from the ruling coalition to form a new administration. That of course doesnt bode well with the current administration and that is why Anwar has said that the charges have been concocted by the government to prevent him from seizing power, just like how he was convicted of the same charges back in 1998 along with corruption counts when he was sacked from the deputy premier post. The sodomy charges back then however was dropped because there was a lack of evidence. So it seems like its deja vu all over again for him. I would like to think what Anwar is saying is true but again, I dont know the facts, maybe the government has something to do with it or maybe they dont. I will reserve my judgement when I see any evidence regarding the matter.
Like I said earlier, until he is proven guilty, I will continue to support Anwar Ibrahim because I believe that he would not do something terrible as that. I mean why should he? There is no reason whatsoever to suggest that he had committed to those charges. He has been out of business for a very long time and right now, he is only interested in making the country better. If he is really found guilty of those charges, then I think it would be the end of his career in politics because he would be 80 years old when he comes out of prison but if he is not found guilty, then this incident would have only help in more in his quest to seize power. I certainly hope that is the case.
*The report was taken from AFP.
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