Mahathir Behind Rush to Justice in Anwar’s Case?
Political sources in Kuala Lumpur say former Malaysian Premier engineered pushing appellate decision forward
The decision to push forward last Friday’s appellate verdict declaring Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim guilty of sodomy represents the final return to power – if from behind the scenes – of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, sources in Kuala Lumpur say.
Several Kuala Lumpur sources told Asia Sentinel that Mahathir and Daim Zainuddin, his longtime ally and former finance minister, basically pushed Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak aside to dragoon the court into moving up the action against Anwar, although there is no evidence that the two engineered the actual decision.
Having been in power for 22 years until he retired in 2002, the 88-year-old Mahathir has never seemed quite comfortable out of power. In 2008, he engineered the ouster of his successor, former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, following an electoral debacle.
The former Malaysian Premier was largely silent during Najib’s first five-year term, in a major way because Najib’s father, Tun Abdul Razak rescued Mahathir from banishment because of politics that at the time were considered too radical for UMNO. But in the past few months he and his forces have since basically taken over as a kingmakers in the wake of the 2013 election debacle in which the ruling Barisan Nasional lost the popular vote for the first time in 44 years although it held its parliamentary majority through its first-past-the-post voting system and gerrymandering.
Although he lost a bid to make his son, Mukhriz, a Party vice president last October, Mahathir has since manipulated the levers of power inside the United Malays National Organization to make life uncomfortable for Najib in the past year, rousing Malay nationalists while deploying a legion of bloggers to criticize Najib, which intensified last August. He and his allies have forced Najib to discard a series of reforms of affirmative action programs for ethnic Malays that economists say have slowed economic progress for the country.
At the same time he has continued his pursuit of his old nemesis, Anwar, whose 1998 prison sentence for sodomy and corruption he allegedly engineered after he fired Anwar as Finance Minister, although he has repeatedly denied it. Both cases against Anwar have been criticized internationally as politically motivated to destroy the opposition leader as a political force.
The Malaysian Bar Council and others have charged that the Court of Appeal hearing, which ended last Friday, was pushed forward by more than a month in what appeared to be a move to thwart Anwar from an almost certain by-election victory that would have in effect made him the chief minister of Selangor, the country’s most powerful and prosperous state and given him a potent platform from which to criticize UMNO and Najib.
Although Anwar remains free on appeal to the Federal Court, the decision, opening the 66-year-old opposition leader to a five-year prison sentence, means he is disqualified from running for the seat in Kajang, a Kuala Lumpur suburb. His wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, registered to run for the seat instead.
The March 7 appellate decision against Anwar and another finding Democratic Action Party Chairman Karpal Singh guilty of sedition on March 11 has led to widespread calls for US President Barack Obama to cancel an April visit to meet with Najib. Failing that, opposition groups and NGOs are calling for the Obama to refrain from praising the country as a democracy and to meet with Opposition leaders as well.
A high court declared Karpal, Malaysia’s most prominent opposition lawyer, guilty of sedition for saying a decision of the Sultan of Perak to remove Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the Perak chief minister in 2009, shortly after the opposition won the state, could be questioned in court. Karpal was fined RM4,000 and, if the decision stands on appeal, would be disqualified from serving in Parliament for five years.
As with Anwar, a high court had declared Karpal not guilty in 2010. The prosecution appealed the case and an appellate court sent it back to the high court for a new trial, which ruled Tuesday that the 73-year-old attorney was guilty.
Because nominations for the Kajang seat were to be submitted March 11, it appeared that pushing forward the appellate decision, which disbarred Anwar from running for the seat, had more political than judicial overtones. For one thing, instead of Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail arguing the case before the three-person Court of Appeal, Mohd Shafie Abdullah, a private attorney and ally of the former prime minister, was brought in to do so, which rarely happens in appellate cases.
Daim in particular has made several public statements that Anwar must not be allowed to become Selangor chief minister. Bloggers aligned with Mahathir have said the same thing repeatedly.
The Bar Council protested the decision against Anwar, citing the haste with which the appeal – which had been pending since July of last year – was taken up. The defense was given only a week to prepare, although in most appeals the defense is given weeks or even months to prepare.
The case was taken up despite the fact that Anwar’s counsel told the court he was unavailable on the dates set. Invariably appellate courts grant delays in such situations. Also, the Bar Council said, the registry of the Court of Appeal had told Anwar’s lawyer to reserve April 7-10 as the proposed hearing dates, but suddenly moved them up to last week.
Normally judgment is reserved for a few days, or even months. But the appellate court insisted on delivering the guilty verdict against Anwar on the same day, insisting on proceeding with sentencing into the early evening despite the fact that in most cases the court adjourns at 5 pm.
“These matters raise many questions, cause much speculation, and lend to the perception that justice may have been hijacked,” according to a bar council statement, signed by Christopher Leong, the Malaysian Bar President. “The questions to be answered, in the mind of the public, are thus: ‘Was the cause of justice best served by the manner and timing in which this appeal was handled’?” and, ‘Was the administration of justice compromised or interfered with’?”
Well, the only way Madhater to rest in peace would be for Mukriz to be PM. Juding from the way Najib handling the MH370, Mukriz may become PM very very quickly
When is this going to end? 2020? The trick to malfunction a computer is to put a powerful magnet near it. That way all burned-in software are erased. Use a powerful magnet near Mahathir’s hear. That way his heart pacer software will get corrupted and he goes cuckoo and hop around like a kangaroo back to the zoo.
I think Najib is not more in charge – he has been reduced to just attending religious functions and buying chicken at RM1 a bird….
Just look at how the IGP can just barge into the press conference on the missing MAS Flight MH370 and have his own press conference and tell the world there was no passengers who checked in who did not board the plane thus contradicting Hishammuddin Hussein and DCA / MAS?
Look at the Home Minister doing the same – putting the blames on immigration officers and now also having his own press conference.
So, is there any wonder if foreign media is saying that there is actually no one in charge or in command in Malaysia?
I think from what we can see, Najib is now just a sitting duck… somebody is actually in command and running this country from behind the scene…
First you need to take advantage of this International media/situation and Street March in Solidarity with the Victims of MAS MH370……..let the media come support you cause….then March to Dataran Merdeka and Camp there in Solidarity with the Victioms until they are found……candle vigil…….then Turn that to Bangun Bantah…BAngkit UMNO-Barang Naik and the inept and incompetent management of resources…..as the people gather like in Ukraine….. and media all there…. Send message of INJUSTICE solidarity to Karpal, Anwar, Teoh, Kugan and Police & Army Corruption…….continue the build up until UMNO-BN is taken down with Sultan-Agong Approval!!
DO it before the international Media get bored with UMNO-BN Lies and inept/incompetent circus and leaves Malaysia…….Make UMNO-BN days painful to the end and in Hotel Sg Buloh…… Ayuh….. Bersh, ABU…..Kuburkan UMNO-BN!!
Dengan media Luar negara kat Malayasia….Masa Dah Sampai untuk Turun Padang…Bangun, Bangkit..Bantah …….Barang Naik, Kos Hidup Naik…. Keputusan mahkahmah Terhadap Karpal Singh, Anwar, Bantah cara UMNO-BN sembunyi maklumat/ siasatan MH370……..
Ayuh Semua Lancarkan Process Kuburkan UMNO-BN Secara Ukraine…..Mari Ramai2 …Dataran Merdeka Muali Sabtu ini…bawa Makan, kem….Bersedia Hina UMNO-BN!!…dan segala perkakas UMNO-BN!!
Kalau tidak….dengan GST Lagi BARANG NAIK……..dengan media luar negara kat Malaysia…Kita TERROkan UMNO-BN!!..>Ayuh!!
Mahathir will scheme and scheme until his last breath.
After a regime change, the complete truth (including
massive squandering of Malaysia’s oil wealth) will come out.
Barry Wain’s book has already exposed some of it.
We already know about Project IC …………….
He is fit to be a “role model” only for neo-fascists.
Siang,
Yes! Seriously, this MH370 incident already demonstrate his incompetency. Anyway, the entire UMNO BN is rotten anyway.
Phua,
One good example is Mugabe who is still clinging to his kingdom. Seriously, King Ghaz should have abstained from voting against Ian Smith’s government. But then again, GB was really king then
Say whatever you want, at least Malaysia was look upon when he was PM.
Well it looks like in future, Malaysian students will “spot” their examination questions using bamboo binoculars and young coconuts… monkey see monkey do…
This writer seems to know so much about and is so confident about his facts about the people behind the hasty judgements in Anwar’s and Karpal’s judgements . Makes us all wonder if he knows who is behind the disappearance of MH370 !
SiangMalam, .. bamboo binoculars? The thick haze seems to be obscuring the bomoh’s line of vision lah. This is obvious .
CLF,
Apa macam? Your good friend, ktemoc in Aussie land says that Hisham is
“cool clinical composure we want to see in our officials”. Care to commment! Time to a celebrity death match……Hahahaha
http://www.ktemoc.blogspot.sg/2014/03/wagging-dog.html
It is obvious to say that some dirty hands were involved in the conviction of Anwar and Karpal Singh based on factors such as timing by the appeal court judges to hurry up the judgement on the eve of Anwar to file for Kajang by-election. The honourable judge fixed the date and not through the registrar of the the court. The coincidence of such peculiar manner warranted a strong suspicion. It was also reported that the on going negotiation forming the unity or reconciliation for BN with Pakatan to join forces behind the scene suddenly broken up due to Anwar’s conviction.
John Berthelsen thinks Mahakutty and Diam are behind the rushed decision on Anwar’s sodomy case. The disappearance of MH370 came on the heels of that judgement. Keep wondering if there is a connection between these 2 stories!
Komplot,
Me don’t think there is a link. Just like some clowns wanna link Lahad Datu with Anwar Ibrahim
MH370 pilot was political fanatic?
http://rightwayssuccess.blogspot.com/2014/03/mh370-pilot-was-political-fanatic.html