Statement regarding Anwar Ibrahim by Al Gore

 March 10, 2014 : 2:57 AM

It is extremely disturbing that the government of Malaysia -- by continuing to press this case beyond the bounds of reason, let alone the bounds of justice -- has used the courts to short-circuit the political process.

The entire world understands with clarity that Anwar Ibrahim was at the verge of running for an office that would have given him serious leverage for advocating greatly needed reform, had he won the election, that his election by the people was likely, and that it was the likely judgment of the electorate that inspired this action by those presently holding power over the administration of "justice."

The court, by accelerating its calendar, reached its verdict in a rush -- early enough to prevent Anwar from running in the election. The calendar of events is itself a contextual indictment of the decision.

By behaving in the manner it did, the court has, of course, invited speculation by reasonable friends of Malaysia in the rest of the world that its independence of judgment and judicial temperament have been influenced by political fear of, and intimidation by, the individuals now in control of executive power in Kuala Lumpur.

The importance of the rule of law should be deemed important for the reputation of Malaysia as a nation within the community of nations.

Moreover, the integrity of Malaysia's parliament -- a crucial asset for the future of Malaysia's respect in the world community -- would be diminished if this decision were to be accepted as "legitimate" by the elected representatives of the people of Malaysia.

In short, future prospects for accomplishing meaningful and necessary change on behalf of the people of Malaysia would be seriously depreciated if the capricious and slanderous imprisonment of an individual who has a universally respected understanding and affinity for the democratic process throughout the world is tolerated.

His pending appeal offers what could be a last chance for Malaysia to make things right. The stakes for Malaysia could hardly be higher. Please do not be deceived. The eyes of the world are focused on what will come next.

Source: http://blog.algore.com/2014/03/statement_regarding_anwar_ibra.html

Barisan Nasional has miscalculated the price in jailing Anwar

Anwar Ibrahim’s conviction: A travesty of justice – Jose Mario Dolor De Vega

MARCH 10, 2014

I refer to “Judicial process and timing in Anwar’s case implies persecution not prosecution, says Bar Council”, The Malaysian Insider, March 9 concerning the latest conviction of the Malaysian opposition leader.

I overwhelmingly concur with the charge of the Malaysian Bar Council that “the charge against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the manner in which his appeal was handled fuels the perception that the opposition leader was persecuted and not prosecuted”.

It is undeniable that because of the grave fear and extreme paranoia of the powers that be to the natural and charismatic power and genuine popularity of Anwar to the Malaysian public, they have used all the resources and arsenal of the government even to the point of compromising the integrity and independence of the courts.

Why? For the simple reason that they do not want Anwar to win in Kajang and subsequently be the Selangor menteri besar.

I am wondering, is it all worth it? Yes, they successfully blocked Anwar from contesting in the coming by-election. In fact, he is in danger once again of going back to prison, yet do they know the repercussions and consequences of what they did?

It is my ardent view and so held that even if PKR will put a dog or a rooster or a cat as its candidate for Kajang, that animal will win not only handsomely but with a landslide.

The deputy director of Asia division of Human Rights, Phil Robertson, said that Anwar’s trial “was all about knocking him out of politics and the government was prepared to do whatever it took to make that happen”.

In other words, they are delirious and desperate to stop Anwar at all cost!

The nefarious act of the powers that be, their continuing persecution of Anwar and his family that begun 15 years ago and all the evil methods that they’ve utilised just to silence the Opposition Leader, will return like a tsunami and will explode in their very faces one fine day!

They will be hurt tremendously by their foolishness! The people are angry and their collective wrath in time will erupt! Watch out!

I am equally in agreement with the contention of the Bar president, Christopher Leong specifically, when he said “that in the first place, the archaic provision under the Penal Code which criminalises sodomy and oral sex should never have been brought against Anwar”.

Leong unequivocally asserted that:

"The case has unnecessarily taken up judicial time and public funds, and has muddied the waters of our justice system.

"We also have grave misgivings with respect to the manner and timing in which the appeal was handled, especially over the way in which mitigation and sentencing proceeded… "

On Friday, the Court of Appeals overturned the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s January 9, 2012 decision acquitting Anwar and declared him guilty of sodomy.

The decision of the court in my view is not only a travesty of justice but an extreme mockery of the whole administration of justice. This leads the wife of the Opposition Leader, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to lament that:

“The proceedings had been conducted in the Palace of Justice, but inside there was only injustice.”

Judgment of Acquittal that is reviewable

Another thing that confused me since then, up to now is the stupid and idiotic principle of the Malaysian “legal” concept of reviewing the judgment of acquittal!

In many jurisdictions, once a person is acquitted he or she is immediately discharged and he or she will no longer be prosecuted (again) on the same charge, because it will violate the legal doctrine of Double Jeopardy which is a universally sanctioned and recognised legal principle.

Right or wrong, a judgment of acquittal is unappealable, irreversible and final, but in Malaysia, even if you are already acquitted, a higher court can still reverse the judgment of your acquittal. I believe that this principle or policy or practice is not only unfavourable to the accused but also mocks the very definition of due process.

So, in Malaysia for example, if an individual is acquitted, he or she cannot celebrate his or her vindication, because he or she must wait whether or not the prosecutor (which in truth and in fact must be called as the persecutor) will decide to appeal his or her judgment of acquittal!

This is preposterously unjust, hilarious to the maximum and stupid to the core, to say the least! Undeniably, this is the heights of absurdity and grave injustice! Shame!

Consider the following facts as reported by the Malaysian Insider:

“Court of Appeal registry had informed Anwar's lawyers to reserve April 7 to 10 as the proposed hearing dates, to which the team agreed.

“However, these dates were abandoned and replaced with earlier dates.”

Question:

I am wondering why the court is acting like it is following a script or a schedule! Why the rush and the haste?

Leong further added that:

"If this is true, it raises the question as to why the Court of Appeal brought forward the appeal to be heard when the April dates had been agreed on.

"After all the defendant was facing a possible 20-year jail term and the April dates would have given the legal team more time to prepare… "

The worst part of this fiasco in my view is the fact that the court had only taken approximately 90 minutes to consider before giving a unanimous decision in reversing the acquittal by the High Court and then when Anwar’s lead counsel, Karpal Singh and the defence team sought an adjournment until next week to allow them to prepare for mitigation the court refused it flatly and one justice even ordered Karpal to submit the mitigation in one hour’s time.

Of course, this farce led Anwar to react angrily. He stood up and shouted, "Do it now!"

Indeed, as Leong quipped: "these matters raise many questions, cause much speculation, and lend to the perception that justice may have been hijacked… ”

Commentaries:

Imagine the scenario the Opposition Leader’s acquittal two years ago was overturned, while his lead counsel, Karpal was also convicted of sedition a month ago.

Wow! I am wondering what kind of judicial system now is being practice in Malaysia and what kind of administration of justice are they following?

Anwar is convicted, Karpal is convicted; I am inclined to ask? It is Tian Chua’s turn to be convicted? Hullabaloo, it seems to be that the powers that be are convicting all the opposition leaders!

These convictions and outrageous trials clearly shows that the establishment is compose of power-hungry despots and they will not stop from wiping out the true people’s representatives!

Yes, these men are convicted; it is because they are men of conviction and principle.

This is a shame, a farce and grim day for all Malaysians!

Local and International condemnation of Anwar’s “conviction”

As already noted, the people of Malaysia are angry with the decision which they viewed as a miscarriage of justice.

Besides the Malaysian Bar, Lawyer’s for Liberty, Bersih and other non-government organisations have also come out to question and criticize the said decision.

The international community’s reaction is more stringent and categorical to the core, to say the least.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemned Anwar’s conviction as a mockery of justice and they even directly “casts doubts on the independence and impartiality of the Malaysian judiciary and tarnishes the reputation of the country’s legal system”.

Even the United States voiced its concern through State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki when she stated that:

"The decision to prosecute Mr Anwar, and his trial, have raised a number of concerns regarding the rule of law and the independence of the court…

"In this high-profile case, it is critical for Malaysia to apply the rule of law fairly, transparently and apolitically in order to promote confidence in Malaysia's democracy and judiciary."

Warning to the powers that be and a call to the people

We all know and so as the whole knows that this is an extreme travesty of justice! If the establishment thought and that colluding stupid “court” thinks that by jailing the opposition leader they will silence him; they are dead wrong! Anwar is used to being in jail!

This latest judicial perversity and political prostitution of the powers that be will only empower further the rakyat not only to resist, but inevitably to revolt!

It is beyond the shadow of doubt that this is exactly the time for them, the people themselves to act and to rise.

They must show in a collective sense that the true power of the government lies on their hands. They must now launch and unleash the Malaysian people power in its full force!

HIDUP RAKYAT!

REFORMASI 2.0!

ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!! – March 10, 2014.

* Jose Mario Dolor De Vega is a philosophy lecturer at the College of Arts and Letters, Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/anwar-ibrahims-conviction-a-travesty-of-justice-jose-mario-dolor-de-vega

The Countdown on Barisan Nasional has begun

Najib Re-brands Malaysia!

Forced out of Selangor election race

Hundreds of millions of ringgit of public money has been spent by BN on foreign public relations.

All that money and effort has now been wasted by one simple decision to make a martyr of the opposition leader.

The world can no longer be gulled that Malaysia is a modern, moderate democracy.

Because, it is plain for all to see that this is still the sort of place where the government locks up its political opponents whenever they become too threatening.

The 50th centenary in office, making BN the world’s longest lasting ‘democratic’ regime just reenforces that message to the world.

And it doesn’t help that the ruling clique has chosen a particularly distasteful and backwards-looking charge to pin upon their political target.  It tells the civilised world everything it needs to know about the mentality of the people running Malaysia.

Along with Anwar, wheelchair-bound septuagenarian Karpal Singh is about to be jailed over an ancient long-running charge of sedition after a similar dogged refusal by prosecutors to accept initial acquittals. This is another out-dated law that BN has promised to abolish, but finds it too useful for attacking people who say discomforting things.

Henceforth, the likes of Britain’s David Cameron and Australia’s Tony Abbott are going to find it a lot harder to justify their new enthusiasm for increasing ties and boosting trade with this ‘neglected fellow democracy’.

And those NGOS and human rights groups who have been patiently warning Western governments that Malaysia’s progress towards democracy is a BN sham have been handed vital ammunition on a plate.

‘Independent judiciary’

Playing dirty – if BN thinks it might lose it cheats.

The rule in Malaysia is that the higher up the judicial ladder the less independent are the judges.  Today provided a simple case in point for outsiders.

The outcome of a carefully deliberated original trial was over-turned in unseemly and unprecedented haste in a matter of hours.

Malaysia’s once proud legal profession have become on-lookers, while irregularities have become commonplace.

How about the recent release after a period of just token imprisonment of the two still unidentified security officers, who murdered Altantouya Shaariibuu? She had claimed to be PM Najib Razak’s lover, while acting as his interpreter for a scandalous defence submarine kickback deal.

It is right to ask why these men, who abducted then blew up a young woman with army explosives, got only a couple of years when the Court of Appeal is now sentencing opposition leaders to three and five years for matters like alleged sedition and alleged homosexuality, which do not even rate as a crime in most countries?

These are simple and obvious matters that the world will now be paying greater attention to when human rights defenders point them out.

Indeed, by jailing Anwar Ibrahim Najib Razak is taking on an international movement on gay rights and he will see where that leads in terms of good PR in the sorts of countries that BN leaders like to invest their money ie America and Europe.

Indecency and the Malaysian mind – Wolf of Wall Street

Sex movie that holds no bars – BN linked funding.

BN’s bizarre form of legal persecution against Anwar Ibrahim can only draw even further attention to the embarrassing hypocrisy of this party’s elite.

Consider the licentious content of the blockbuster unleashed by the PM’s own step-son, Wolf of Wall Street!

The movie shocked many in Hollywood and lost funding from mainstream studios, largely because of its indecency, but Riza Aziz stepped in and injected $100million dollars.

Sodomy is one of the many sexual themes in that movie, combined with an unusual approach to ingesting drugs.

Yet what is treated as a joke in Riza’s Hollywood money-spinner turns out to represent years of imprisonment under his step-father’s hypocritically prudish and prejudiced regime.

Corruption

Malaysia’s determination to make a martyr of its veteran political opposition leader will draw attention to some other revealing facts, glossed over by BN’s expensive international PR drives.

This country of some 22 million people rates Number 4 in terms of gross capital flight (illegal money), beaten only by countries with relatively huge populations i.e. China, Russia and India. That is a mighty telling state of affairs.

The world financial markets are likewise looking askance at the extraordinary sums of money that Malaysia has recently been borrowing via irregular off-shore bond deals through 1 Malaysia Development Bhd, chaired by Najib.

Much of this money seems now to have disappeared into off-shore accounts.

The fact is Malaysia is a mess.  BN have lost control over corruption and are only in power because they rigged the elections.  The man who did win most votes is about to be forced into jail.

Najib should view the precedents of other countries and resist provoking his population too far. Does this BN regime really want to drag Malaysia into conflict, just because it thinks it should have the right to rule for ever?

Source: http://www.sarawakreport.org/2014/03/najib-re-brands-malaysia/?utm_source=Sarawak+Report&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=44d28a294a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_97635b3a5d-44d28a294a-208017985

Anwar’s conviction marks return of authoritarian rule, says lawyers’ group

MARCH 08, 2014

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy conviction yesterday has reaffirmed the return of authoritarian rule and the prime minister's false reformist credentials, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said today.

Its executive director Eric Paulsen (pic) said the fact that the Malaysian judiciary was neither impartial, independent nor free from "political manipulation and control" was apparent from the "lightning" speed the opposition leader's case was handled in the Court of Appeal yesterday.

"LFL is extremely shocked and appalled at the Court of Appeal’s ludicrous sodomy conviction and five years’ jail sentence against Anwar Ibrahim in what was clearly was a trumped up and politically motivated charge that has been universally condemned.

"The lightning speed in which the appeal against Anwar’s acquittal was brought forward and fully heard, having him convicted and sentenced in two days in order to disqualify him from running in the Kajang by-election, demonstrated clearly that in politically important cases, the judiciary is not impartial, independent and free from political manipulation and control," it said in a statement.

Paulsen hit out at the three-men bench, led by Justice Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi, along with Justice Aziah Ali and Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh, who he said would go down in history for carrying out one of the "worst miscarriages of justice".

"Their names will live in infamy together with other infamous judges like Augustine Paul and Arifin Jaka who similarly perverted the law in order to convict Anwar on false charges," he added.

He said LFL was also shocked that Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was allowed to lead the prosecution team against Anwar despite his conflict of interest and his unsuitability.

"Shafee’s appointment smacks of desperation and sets another bad precedent, sending the wrong message that the authorities will go to extraordinary lengths to secure the conviction of Umno’s political adversaries," Paulsen said.

"This move proved to be scandalous as Shafee continuously misled the court on the law and facts and at every available opportunity, made outrageous personal attacks against Anwar especially during sentencing.

"We are shocked at the deep disarray of our criminal justice system and cannot believe that any reform is possible under the present government," he added.

Yesterday, the Court of Appeal overturned Anwar's 2012 acquittal for sodomy, and sentenced him to five years jail.

His former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan had accused Anwar of sodomising him in 2008.

Balia delivered the court's decision in 90 minutes after hearing submissions from both parties.

The LFL had previously also slammed DAP chairman Karpal Singh's conviction for sedition, saying authoritarianism and political persecution had returned after a brief lull following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's promise on democratic reforms, which it said now turned out to be a rebranding exercise and ultimately, false. – March 8, 2014.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/anwars-conviction-marks-return-of-authoritarian-rule-says-lawyers-group

‘With me behind bars, PKR is stronger’, says Anwar

Anisah Shukry

 | March 7, 2014

PUTRAJAYA: PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, 67,  told reporters today that his party would continue to be stronger even if he was imprisoned.

“Kajang will be stronger, inshaAllah. My party will be able to consolidate further because the boss is in trouble,” he laughed.

“The beauty of this is that it’s not just (about) Anwar, it’s a struggle. So you want to cut off Anwar, you put Anwar in prison, then the party, the movement becomes stronger.

“You deny Anwar the seat, and I believe inshaAllah Kajang people will fight back and I will be there everyday to campaign.”

Anwar appeared unfazed by the five year prison sentence against him, and was optimistic that the struggle for reformasi would be stronger than ever.

He said “they” had apparently not learned from the wrath of the people.

When asked if he believed he was a victim in this case, Anwar said yes.

“You can see the conduct, no reference to the facts in the law. Follow strictly the script given to you. This is a criminal trial. You mean to say it’s beyond reasonable doubt?”

He said the conduct of the judges was “pathetic” and zeroed in on Judge Aziah Ali, who he described as showing “so much venom and anger.”

“She’s not fit to be a judge to behave in that manner. There’s no decorum, the appearance of being fair, not biased,” he stressed.

He also dismissed Shafee’s comments that he was a “national threat”.

“You see the corrupt, the murderers, the rapists all in collusion, so I become the national threat,” said Anwar.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/03/07/anwar-its-all-over-again-after-15-years/

Anwar given 5 years’ jail after appellate court reverses sodomy acquittal

PUTRAJAYA, March 7 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was today sentenced to five years’ jail after the Court of Appeal overturned his previous sodomy acquittal, ruling that the trial judge erred in rejecting DNA evidence adduced.

The three-men bench led by Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi, Datuk Aziah Ali and Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh unanimously decided that the High Court failed to “critically evaluate” the evidence submitted by government chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong.

The bench delivered their decision in 90 minutes after hearing submissions from both parties in yesterday and today.

Balia said that High Court Datuk Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah had wrongly concluded that investigating officer Jude Blacious Pereira may have compromised DNA samples submitted as evidence when he opened a sealed bag in which they were kept.

“We are of the view that had the learned judge properly and correctly appreciated that the so-called tampering was solely to P27 (the bag containing the test tubes holding the samples), he would not have come to the conclusion that by cutting open P27, the confidence and integrity of the samples was gone and the samples had been compromised before they reached PW5 (Dr Seah) for analysis,” Balia said.

Balia also dismissed the defence’s contention that the DNA samples had suffered no degradation despite being retrieved from the rectum of Anwar’s accuser, given the “impeccable credentials” of the government chemists.

“We unanimously allow this appeal and set aside the decision of the High Court. The respondent is hereby found guilty and convicted of the offence charged,” read Balia.

Anwar’s defence team then sought for an adjournment until next week to allow them to prepare for mitigation.

But Balia today insisted that Karpal Singh, who is leading Anwar’s defence, must submit mitigating circumstances in an hour’s time.

This led Anwar to react angrily by standing up and shouting out at the decision.

“Just do it now!” he exclaimed loudly, in apparent reference to the sentencing.

This prompted his tearful wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, along with daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar to rush to his side in an attempt to calm the opposition leader.

Karpal said that the defence was not prepared to mitigate the sentence, but Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah who headed the prosecution objected to say the government’s appeal has been postponed since July last year.

Protests could also be heard from the gallery when Balia said that mitigation must be completed today.

“Why are you trying to rush?” an unidentified speaker asked loudly as a tense air descended over the courtroom.

“It’s [happening] all over again, after 15 years. They want to put me in the lockup. That’s why they want to go ahead with the mitigation,” Anwar said today, referring to his first sodomy conviction in 1999.

The opposition leader has repeatedly claimed that the charge is politically motivated.

Just before the proceedings were about to resume more than a dozen police officers filed into the courtroom that was already packed with reporters, MPs, party members and supporters.

As the session resumed, Karpal told judges that Anwar suffers from “serious ailments” such high blood pressure, heart condition and a spinal problem, and that the defence needed time to prepare Anwar’s medical report before mitigating the sentencing.

But Balia concurred with Shafee that a medical report is not pertinent and it can be dealt with later, which prompted Karpal to question the “necessity to rush this case.”

“Under the circumstances of this case, a medical report is not necessary,” said Balia and asked Karpal to continue with the mitigation.

Balia then asked Shafee to proceed to state the appropriate punishment for the charge.

“The victim was 23-years-old at the time the offence was committed. He was employed by the accused.

“To add insult to the injury, the accused had called the victim a liar. No condom was used, no regard to sexually transmitted diseases. It was an irresponsible and dangerous act,” said Shafee.

This prompted Anwar to shout from the dock: “Sudahlah (Enough) Shafee, you have got what you wanted.”

Citing Anwar’s role as the parliamentary opposition leader, an adviser to the Selangor government and to-be candidate in Kajang, Shafee said the punishment accorded should be appropriate with the offence committed.

Shafee also said Anwar’s case was an issue of “national security”.

After consultation with the other judges, Balia handed down the sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Balia then set RM10,000 as bail and instructed Anwar to make the payment on Monday.

On January 9, 2012, Anwar was acquitted of allegedly sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at the Desa Damansara condominium on June 26, 2008.

High Court judge Mohd Zabidin had then freed Anwar on grounds that he could not rule out possible tampering of the DNA samples in the case.

The opposition leader was charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code and can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction.

The trial began 18 months after Anwar was charged in court in August 2008.

The former deputy prime minister and finance minister was charged with sodomy and corruption in 1998 after he was sacked from the cabinet. He was convicted and jailed for both offences but the sodomy charge was overturned.

Anwar was freed in September 2004 after spending six years in jail and rose to limelight by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which he defended in May 5 national polls. 

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/anwar-acquittal-reversed

Anwar should have been acquitted without defence called in sodomy case, says Karpal

BY V. ANBALAGAN
MARCH 06, 2014

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should have been acquitted of sodomy without his defence being called as the case investigating officer failed to follow the directive of a Kuala Lumpur hospital forensic pathologist in the handling of samples retrieved from Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the Court of Appeal was told today.

Lawyer Karpal Singh (pic) said Dr Siew Shue Feng had instructed Superintendent Judy Blacious Pereira to store 12 samples in a freezer before passing them over to a chemist.

"The integrity of the samples was compromised as Pereira kept them in a filing cabinet in his office, instead of a freezer," he said in his submission.

Dr Siew had handed over the samples, including rectal swabs, collected from Saiful for DNA tests.

The appellate court was hearing Putrajaya's appeal against Anwar's acquittal on a charge of sodomising Saiful, his former aide, at a condominium unit in Bukit Damansara in 2008.

Karpal said the Inspector General of Police's standing order did not state that an investigating officer could remove samples from a bag and put them in separate envelopes before labelling them.

He said the samples were collected at the hospital some 56 hours after the alleged incident, and the police officer only handed them another 40 hours later to government
chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong about 7.30pm on June 30, 2008.

Karpal said the defence had challenged Dr Seah, as the integrity of the samples were compromised and the prosecution had failed to establish a prime facie case.

He said the trial judge believed the testimony of two defence expert witnesses over the two local chemists, including Dr Seah.

"That is the reason the judge decided to acquit Anwar after hearing the testimony of the two foreign experts," he added.

On January 9, 2012, Anwar, now 66, was acquitted for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at a condominium unit in Bukit Damansara in 2008.

Putrajaya is appealing against that decision.

He also said the court must disregard the evidence of Saiful, as his conduct after the alleged incident showed he could have left the apartment as the door was not latched.

"But he had curry puff and coffee with Anwar and remained in the apartment for 20 minutes before leaving," he said.

The lawyer told the court even in the first sodomy case, the Federal Court acquitted Anwar after discarding the evidence of complainant Azizan Abu Bakar due to lack of credibility.

Ram Karpal Singh, who is assisting Karpal, said Dr Seah's DNA analysis showed there was a third contributor found in the lower, upper and perianal region of samples collected from Saiful.

The other were that of Anwar and Saiful.

"Perhaps, Saiful was penetrated by a third party," Ram Karpal said.

He said since the samples were handed to Dr Seah 96 hours later, there was a high possibility of them being in a state of degradation.

However, he said the defence had shown the samples were surprisingly pristine.

"Now is it doubtful whether the sample that was collected from Saiful was the one that was sent for analysis," he added.

Hearing was adjourned till tomorrow.

Earlier, Karpal went on a tirade  against ad-hoc deputy public prosecutor Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah for character assassination of Anwar.

Karpal, who is also DAP national chairman, said the Umno lawyer had been making remarks against the opposition leader for his statement in the dock at the High Court.

Shafee, during submission early today, said Anwar's defence in the High Court was bare denial when the PKR de facto chief only gave a statement from the dock.

"He attacked a judge, the prosecution and the government when he gave the unsworn statement," Shafee said.

He said it was elementary law that an accused person had the option to testify and be cross-examined, remain silent or give an unsworn statement.

Karpal said he had been patient and did not want to disrupt Shafee for more than two and half hours when the lawyer laced his submission with political statements.

Training his comments at the Court of Appeal judges, the veteran lawyer said this court must decide this case based on evidence.

"Any submission must be within the parameters of the law," he said in the packed court room, mostly consisting of PKR supporters.

He said Shafee was misleading the court when he said that the standard of proof in criminal cases was on the balance of probability, lower than the beyond reasonable doubt test.

Shafee nor the three-men bench chaired by Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi interrupted Karpal when the 73-year-old wheelchair-bound politician-cum-lawyer made the remarks, at times in a loud and stern voice.

He said in a criminal trial it was the prosecution who had the responsibility to prove every ingredient of the charge.

"An accused person need not prove his innocence," Karpal said in apparent reference to Shafee's submission that the prosecution could not cross examine Anwar in the High Court because he gave a statement from the dock. -- March 6, 2014

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/anwar-should-have-been-acquitted-without-defence-called-in-sodomy-case-says