Ahad, 8 Januari 2012

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim

A ‘Test’ of Democracy Malaysia Might Fail

Posted: 08 Jan 2012 10:16 AM PST

Din Merican

ON MONDAY (January 9, 2012) a struggle over human rights and democracy will come to a head in an important Muslim country. The site is not Egypt or Turkey but Malaysia, a country of 28 million that, as it has prospered economically, has grown an opposition movement that is pressing an authoritarian regime to share power.

The opposition's leader is Anwar Ibrahim, whose multiethnic alliance shocked the ruling party in several state elections in 2008 and who has a chance to oust Prime Minister Najib Razak in national elections expected in the next few months, if the vote is free and fair.

All that explains why on Monday Mr. Anwar will find himself not on the campaign trail but in a courtroom, where he is likely to be given a lengthy prison sentence. The charge is homosexual sodomy, which Malaysia shamefully still treats as a crime.

Mr. Anwar, who is 64 and married with children, denies the charge; he claims, plausibly, to have been framed by the government. His 26-year-old accuser met with Mr. Najib two days before the alleged sexual encounter took place. The case was brought shortly after the opposition's 2008 victories and is coming to a conclusion just as new elections approach.

Mr. Anwar has been persecuted before. After a falling out with a previous prime minister, he was charged with sodomy in 1998 and spent six years in prison before being exonerated. Since then he has become one of the best-known advocates for liberal democracy in the Muslim world. The coalition he has fashioned of secular, Muslim and ethnic Chinese groups could make Malaysia the second majority-Muslim country in Asia, after Indonesia, to become a working democracy.

Mr. Anwar is not perfect: Lashing out at Mr. Najib after his arrest, he employed ugly anti-Israel rhetoric, for which he later apologized. He nevertheless deserves support from the United States and other nations seeking to broaden human rights in the Muslim world.

So far, the Obama administration's stance has been weak. The State Department says that it has "closely followed the prosecution" and raised the case "regularly in Kuala Lumpur and in Washington." But there has been little overt pressure; when President Obama met with Mr. Najib in November, he said nothing publicly about human rights or democracy.

Instead he heaped praise on the Prime Minister for "the extraordinary cooperation that we've received on a whole range of issues."

In fact Malaysia has been a modest help on terrorism cases, and it forms part of the administration's strategy for bolstering its position in Asia. That, however, is not a rationale to step aside as Mr. Anwar, and the country's hopes for democracy, are crushed. The State Department has said that the Anwar case is "a test of Malaysia's commitment to democracy and the rule of law." If the verdict fails that test, there should be consequences for Mr. Najib's relations with Washington.

D.S Anwar Ibrahim@NeoMsia12 – Perasaan dan Persediaan Sebelum Hari Perbicaraan 09.01.2012

Posted: 08 Jan 2012 10:12 AM PST

Pesanan Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim

Posted: 08 Jan 2012 09:08 AM PST

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
 
Tanggal esok 9 Januari 2012 ini, penghakiman kes Fitnah Liwat II akan termaktub dalam sejarah, samada sebagai detik penentuan keadilan ditegakkan ataupun hari gelap buat kedaulatan undang-undang dan kepada mereka yang perjuangkan keadilan.
 
Saya menyeru seluruh rakyat Malaysia agar membulatkan tekad serta iltizam dalam menuntut pembaharuan politik. Mereka boleh mengaibkan saya, mereka boleh menghumban saya ke penjara, mereka boleh menginjak hak rakyat dan mereka boleh memukul kita hanya kerana berkumpul, akan tetapi mereka takkan dapat merampas kehormatan diri, maruah serta semangat kita untuk melakukan apa yang benar dan memperjuangkan apa yang kita percaya.
 
Mengulangi fitnah keji sejak dari 1998 lagi terhadap diri saya dan sepanjang sandiwara perbicaraan yang panjang ini, pelbagai fitnah dan tohmahan telah dilemparkan, namun ianya tidak menghakis keyakinan rakyat.  Kita telah menyaksikan betapa polis, pihak pendakwaan dan kehakiman serta media yang dikawal UMNO berganding bahu memastikan agar kerajaan BN yang rasuah dan zalim ini terus berkuasa.
 
Walau apa pun jua penghakiman yang akan diputuskan nanti, ia harus tetap melonjakkan semangat dan keyakinan menuntut perubahan bagi menegakkan hukum, melaksanakan sistem ekonomi saksama dan memupuk semangat persaudaraan yang tulen. Usaha dan upaya mestilah digembeling demi membanteras kezaliman, rasuah dan penyalahgunaan kuasa. Pastikan pada Pilihanraya Umum ke 13 nanti, kebangkitan rakyat akan menghumban penguasa angkuh  dari tampuk pemerintahan.
 
Mereka mungkin berhasrat memenjara dan merantai saya tetapi mereka takkan sesekali dapat memasung jiwa dan semangat saya. Di sini saya mengulangi ikrar bahawa saya tidak akan berhenti selagi kita belum berjaya melaksanakan Perubahan dan  menghapuskan segala kebejatan yang dilakukan oleh kerajaan UMNO-BN dan membangunkan sebuah bangsa yang adil lagi saksama. Berbekalkan semangat perjuangan yang murni serta bertawakal kepada Allah, Inshaallah, perjuangan kita akan mencapai kejayaan. 
 
Saya akan tetap bersama anda semua di hati dan jiwa saya dan bersama-samalah kita bina sebuah negara Malaysia yang baharu.
 
ANWAR IBRAHIM
 
========= 
Come tomorrow, the 9th January 2011, the judgement of the Sodomy II case will go down in history as a defining moment or indeed a day of infamy in the fight for justice and a better Malaysia.
I call on my fellow Malaysians to remain firm and committed in their clamour for political reform. They can assassinate my character, trample on our rights, they can put us behind bars for speaking up and they can even beat us up just for being together but they can never take away our dignity and our spirit to do what is right and fight for what we believe in.

Beginning from the first heinous plot back in 1998, they then repeated this bare and scurrilous allegation against me three and half years ago and since then have launched relentless attacks on my character. Throughout this sham trial, the people have seen how the police, the prosecution and the judiciary and the UMNO controlled media are working together to secure the continuation of this corrupt BN government.

Whatever the judgement may be, let us renew our conviction to bring about change – to uphold the rule of law, to have a fair and equitable economic system and to foster a true spirit of brotherhood among all Malaysians. We must remain steadfast in our fight against corruption, abuse of power, oppression and tyranny.
 
Rest assured that in the coming 13th General Elections, the voice of the people will be heard and this corrupt and arrogant government will be toppled from their pedestals of power.

They can put me in a cage and chain me to the ground but they can never imprison my soul and my spirit. I make this solemn promise to you that I will not rest until we make right the wrongs committed by this corrupt government and bring about a just and equitable nation.

I will remain with you in heart and soul and together we will build a new Malaysia.
 
ANWAR IBRAHIM 

Karpal Confident Anwar Will Be Acquitted

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 11:23 PM PST

Malaysiakini

Despite the verdict in opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial due tomorrow, DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh is confident that the prime minister-in-waiting will be acquitted.

"There is no doubt in my mind that tomorrow, Anwar will be acquitted. He is entitled to the acquittal," declared Karpal.

The fact that Anwar had testified from the dock instead of the witness stand does not mean the defence cannot secure an acquittal, added Karpal (right).

"The solitary witness is Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Look at his evidence, a man who says he was ravished but for two days he did nothing.

"The complainant had an affair with the deputy public prosecutor and showed signs of having access to the investigating officer. But the prosecution has not called him to deny the allegation.

"These are sufficient for an acquittal," he said at the party's national delegates conference in Shah Alam today.

For these reasons, Karpal added, an interim prime minister is not needed because Anwar will helm the country's leadership when Pakatan Rakyat captures federal power.

Target: Nine states and Putrajaya

Karpal went on to announce DAP's target for the opposition coalition come the general election, vowing to replace the BN federal government.

"This time we must at least take power in nine states and take power in Putrajaya… it is no longer a goal beyond achievement," he said.

Karpal urged the over 700-strong party delegates to grasp the opportunity of the next general election, warning that there may not be another such chance.

Speaking on the sidelines later, Karpal said if Anwar is indeed convicted tomorrow, the defence team will apply for a stay of execution pending appeal.

Malaysia’s Anwar Ready For Worst In Sodomy Verdict

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 11:16 PM PST

By The Associated Press SEAN YOONG (Associated Press)

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Sunday on the eve of a verdict in his sodomy trial that he is prepared to be imprisoned, but hoped that such an outcome would hurt the ruling coalition in the next national elections.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court could sentence Anwar to a maximum of 20 years if it convicts him Monday of sodomizing a young male former aide.

Anwar denies the charges. He says Prime Minister Najib Razak’s governing coalition masterminded the trial in an effort to tarnish his image and potentially banish him from politics. Najib denies any conspiracy.

“We pray for the best, that justice will prevail, but we’re prepared for the worst,” Anwar told The Associated press.

The prosecution’s case in the sodomy trial hinges mainly on testimony by Anwar’s accuser, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and semen samples found on his body that investigators said matched Anwar’s DNA. Defense lawyers insist Saiful’s testimony contained too many inconsistencies and that the DNA evidence was mishandled and tainted.

Anwar, a 64-year-old former deputy prime minister, was convicted in another sodomy case in 2000. He denied claims that he sodomized his family’s ex-driver, and Malaysia’s highest court freed him in 2004 after quashing his conviction and nine-year sentence.

Anwar said a conviction in the current case could cause the government to face a backlash in the “court of public opinion in elections” widely expected this year.

“Notwithstanding whether I am set free or jailed, the focus should and must be the elections, and the people must decide,” he said. “Make sure you come fully prepared and change the government in the next general elections.”

Anwar has been touring various Malaysian states over the past week for rallies to address thousands of supporters, many of whom are expected to demonstrate outside the court when the verdict is announced.

Anwar was charged in 2008, several months after the National Front coalition endured its worst electoral results in more than five decades of uninterrupted rule.

The opposition now controls slightly more than one-third of Parliament’s seats. It hopes to win power amid persistent public complaints that the government has allowed corruption and racial discrimination to flourish, but the National Front has voiced confidence that its support remains strong in crucial constituencies.

Anwar Ibrahim: Message On Eve Of 901 (January 09)

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 11:00 PM PST
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