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| AsiaViews, Edition: 45/VI/February2010 |
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| Anwar claims Najib dictating Saiful’s testimony |
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| Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, left, speaks to media as his wife Wan Azizah listens at a courthouse with his wife Wan Azizah in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. Ibrahim went on trial Wednesday for allegedly sodomizing a male aide, a charge that he says is a high-level government conspiracy aimed at destroying his political movement. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin) |
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KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reiterated his belief that his second sodomy trial is politically motivated.
He also claimed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is the mastermind behind Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s testimony.
“Umno is ordering them (Attorney-General) to do this. Datuk Seri Najib Razak is also asking Saiful to say what is needed to strengthen the accusation and also to confuse the public,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.
Anwar’s trial finally started today after much delay and Saiful shocked the High Court today when he said the opposition leader had used profane language when asking to have sexual intercourse with him.
Saiful took the stand at the High Court as the prosecution’s first witness, testified that when he first met Anwar at a condominium in Damansara Heights in 2008, the PKR de facto leader had asked him: “Can I **** you today?”
Anwar is accused of sodomizing his former aide on June 26, 2008 at a posh condominium in the exclusive Bukit Damansara suburb of Kuala Lumpur.
He has denied the charge, saying it’s a conspiracy similar to that in 1998.
The 63-year-old opposition leader said that the fabrication of evidence against him is not new and that his lawyers are ready to expose the truth.
“This has happened before. As far as I am concerned, we have to deal with it but let my lawyers cross examine him.
“In the previous case, they claim that they were 13 spots of sperm on the mattress and said that evidence was conclusive.
“But after three months of Utusan Malaysia glorifying and campaigning with issues and tarnishing my image then they decided to expunge the record because they cannot defend the evidence. I believe this will happen again,” he said.
Anwar was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.
He had earlier led the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in Election 2008.
But he was then mired with the accusation from 24-year-old Saiful, whom Anwar dismissively said was just a “coffee boy”.
Other reports
Saiful describes Anwar’s indecent proposal
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s accuser in his Sodomy II trial shocked the High Court today when he said the opposition leader had used profane language when asking to have sexual intercourse with him.
Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who took the stand at the High Court as the prosecution’s first witness, testified that when he first met Anwar at a condominium in Damansara Heights in 2008, the PKR de facto leader had asked him: “Can I **** you today?”
Saiful’s use of the profanity was greeted by sniggers and murmurs from those in the public gallery.
When asked by the prosecution about his immediate reaction to the request by Anwar, Saiful replied that at that point of time he felt “angry and scared.”
“I was angry and scared. I refused to do so, to which Anwar became angry,” said Saiful.
The complainant also alleged that the former deputy prime minister had offered him money in exchange for the sexual act, to which he also “refused”.
“I repeated what I had said and told him that I cannot bear to do it.”
Anwar had then “ordered” him to proceed to the guest room where Saiful then stripped and donned a towel before the opposition leader hugged him.
Saiful described to the court how Anwar had closed the curtains of the bedroom, switched off the room lights and closed the door.
“It was dark, but I could still see some light coming from between the cracks of the curtains as well as the washroom light,” explained Saiful.
At this point Anwar had apparently told Saiful to “clean himself up” in the washroom. Saiful said he did as he was told.
Upon coming out of the washroom, the complainant had testified that Anwar was sitting at the foot of the bed and was also clad in a white towel.
“He (Anwar) then instructed me to come to him. He then hugged me while standing.”
At this point, lead counsel for Anwar’s defense team, Karpal Singh, objected to the questioning of the key witness being done in open court and requested that it be continued in-camera.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, in agreement with Karpal, cited legal provisions which empowered the court to do so for the sake of public interest.
At the beginning of Saiful’s testimony, he claimed that units 1151 and 1152 of the condominium where the sodomy allegedly took place belonged to a Hasanuddin Abdul Hamid, and that he had been there several times prior to the incident.
Saiful had also stated that each time he went to these units, a password, “Mohktar”, was required
Earlier, Saiful also told the court that he quit his job as a personal assistant to the opposition leader because he “could no longer stand being used as stated in the charges”.
Saiful had earlier pointed to Anwar when asked by Mohd Yusof to identify the accused.
Anwar did not look at him.
The opposition leader, who smirked at many points during Saiful’s testimony, had earlier described the charge as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power” when the charge was read out to him.
Saiful, who appeared calm and composed, told the court that his job as Anwar’s personal assistant included helping the opposition leader to organize secret meetings with MPs who potentially wanted to defect to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties.
He also testified that he took care of Anwar’s mobile phone and alerted his then-employer to important messages.
Anwar’s trial finally started today after much delay with the prosecution firing their first salvo by saying they had evidence to show that the semen stains found on Saiful belonged to the opposition leader.
In their opening statement, the prosecution told the High Court that tissue samples taken from the outer and inner part of Saiful’s anus were examined for a DNA match.
The prosecution said it would bring to the court testimonies to show the semen stains have been confirmed by authorities from the Chemistry Department as belonging to Anwar.
Anwar is accused of sodomizing his former aide on June 26, 2008 at a posh condominium in the exclusive Bukit Damansara suburb of Kuala Lumpur.
He has denied the charge, saying it’s a conspiracy similar to that in 1998.
The 63-year-old opposition leader was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.
He had earlier led the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in 2008 General Election.
Soon after, he was accused by the 24-year-old Saiful, whom Anwar dismissively called a “coffee boy.”
The trial has been adjourned until 9.30am tomorrow. The proceedings will be in camera due to the sensitivity of the testimony, the court ruled.
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
03 February 2010
Other reports
PKR to hold nightly briefing on Sodomy II
PETALING JAYA, Feb 3 — PKR will hold nightly briefings for its supporters at the party headquarters here, to counter the salacious details emerging from Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial.
Anwar’s lawyers and senior party leaders will be among those invited to give the briefings.
The briefing is organized by the party’s information secretariat chaired by PKR Youth vice chief Amirudin Shari.
“We want to show the public that mobilizing crowds in court is just a small part of our work. We will hold nightly briefings for our supporters to get the correct information on the case,” said PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Akin who was the first speaker at the briefing tonight.
The secretariat will also print thousands of copies of a medical report that claimed Anwar’s accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was never sodomized, to be distributed to the public.
“Looking at the media reports today, it was clear their intention was only to tarnish Datuk Seri Anwar’s image,” Shamsul added.
Shamsul also claimed that Saiful’s testimony in court today showed that the former Anwar aide had not been sincere.
“Saiful is said to have met Najib to discuss a scholarship, but today in court he admitted that he is a university drop out,” said Shamsul referring to the prime minister’s statement in 2008 that he met Saiful to talk about a scholarship application.
Earlier today, Saiful who took the stand at the High Court as the prosecution’s first witness, testified that when he first met Anwar at a condominium in Damansara Heights in 2008, the PKR de facto leader had asked him: “Can I **** you today?”
Apart from the briefing, party officials are also using social networking website Facebook and micro-blogging service Twitter to defend Anwar’s image, calling the sodomy allegation “Conspiracy II.”
Prior to the trial Anwar appeared to have successfully won in the court of public opinion with wide and favourable coverage from the international media.
By Adib Zalkapli
The Malaysian Insider
03 February 2010
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| By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani |
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| The Malaysian Insider, 03 February 2010 |
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