Sodomy II: Defense worried Farah hid the truth from her bosses

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Defense lawyers acting in the Sodomy II trial are increasingly worried that Deputy Public Prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif did not tell her bosses about her closeness to complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan until after the affair allegations blew up, saying it suggested a deliberate intention on her part to hide the truth from them.

“The more we check, the more worried we are because there are so many loose ends that suggest impropriety. As a DPP she cannot say she doesn’t know the rules that she cannot have any relationship with the complainant that is other than professional,” Anwar’s lawyer Sivarasa Rasaiah told Malaysia Chronicle.

“Yet did she inform her bosses? Did she seek their advice or try to disqualify herself? That she did not is an indication that she was willing to sacrifice her professional ethics for Saiful.”

Sacrificing her professional ethics for Saiful

Saiful with his own fiancee Janna Syariza

The Farah-Saiful affair is the latest convolution in the government’s complex trial against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. It has not only sensationalized but made even murkier the high-profile trial that has been condemned far and wide as being trumped-up to stop Anwar’s political rise and put him behind bars.

On Monday, Anwar’s lead counsel Karpal Singh applied to have the case struck off on the basis of a mistrial due to unfair advantage and the possibility that both Saiful and Farah had breached the Official Secrets Act. The High Court will hear the application on August 9.

Meanwhile, Saiful has broken his silence by warning on a Twitter message to his followers that evil will be eliminated. But he was vague, did not refer to Farah at all and did not make any denial of any affair with her.

“This is another worrisome point. The two main ‘stars’ have not said anything at all. Only the Attorney-General has dropped her from the team. He says he cannot verify if there was an affair, which actually means he also does not dare to deny there was an affair,” Sivarasa said.

“Usually, the thing to do is to stand by your staff – if she is innocent. But the AG could only say she did minor duties. At no time did he defend her integrity which is also the integrity of the entire prosecution team. This is very significant. How can the prosecution insist there is nothing for Anwar to worry about, that he must accept their word as good when even Farah herself has been hiding the truth from them.”

Wedding cards already all sent out

Sources in the legal fraternity have also told Malaysia Chronicle that Farah got engaged last year. Her fiancé is the assistant head of the prosecution unit in a northern state. Their marriage was due to take place on July 9, with dinner for her side of the family slated for July 10 and for the groom’s on July 11.

But it was not to be. According to the sources, a day before the marriage was due to be solemnized she asked for a cancellation, leaving her fiancé who had already sent out all the invitation cards stunned and heartbroken.

It is not clear if Saiful is still engaged to his own fiancee Janna Syariza.

All eyes are also on Friday, when Anwar’s appeal for documents to help his lawyers prepare his defense will be heard. This has been another area where the Malaysian government has come under intense criticism because of its refusal to adhere to UN guidelines for fair trial.

The prosecution has accused Anwar of trying to fish for information but legal experts including New York-based Human Rights Watch have countered that to withhold access to documents used in the trial was tantamount to deliberately tilting the case in the government’s favour.