It's Datuk T who will put Anwar on trial

Make no mistake, though we can rejoice that finally the Datuk T trio - former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik and Perkasa treasurer Shuaib Lazim - are going to trial, the real person on trial will be Anwar Ibrahim.

And Anwar Ibrahim will not even have his day in court to defend himself.

The most likely charge the trio will be slapped with will be one for possession and distribution of pornographic material. Guilty as hell, the trio will most likely claim themselves “not guilty” and have their day in court.

The real reason

It is in court that we will see the real reason why these three made their “not guilty” stand.

The prosecution will have to prove that the trio are indeed guilty of possession and distribution of pornographic material. To prove this, they will have to explain how and where and why they acquired the sex-tape.

The sordid details will definitely be highlighted on all the main-stream media outlets and via the main-stream papers. We will be treated to all things bad about Anwar Ibrahim even though the identity of the actor and actress need not be discuss at all in the trial.

The sad thing about all this is, Anwar Ibrahim may not even have his day in court to defend himself.

The trial has just to make insinuations that it was Anwar Ibrahim, to create the perception that it was Anwar Ibrahim. This game of perception is what UMNO and their minions are up to now. The truth does not matter, what you and I believe counts - even if it is not the truth at all.

Character assassination

Logically, the whole matter is a clear cut case. The Datuk T trio, by their own admission and actions are guilty of possession and distributing the sex-tape.

The fact is they called together a posse of journalist to have a public viewing of the tape. Former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thambi Chik even admitted to how they came across with the sex-tape, and he further justified his action in screening it by saying he wanted the country to know the kind of person Anwar Ibrahim is.

The three men even went further to suggest that Anwar Ibrahim and his wife resign from active politics. Anwar has since lodged a police complaint against the three for what amounts to criminal deframation and blackmail.

By admission alone, the three are guilty to their teeth yet they will be given the space to defend themselves in a court of law.

This is a clear-cut case of character assassination engineered by UMNO using the judiciary and tax-payers' money to bring down their greatest enemy. It is an embarrassment that while the three men and UMNO uses the courts to fling more mud into Anwar Ibrahim’s face, Anwar himself has no opportunity to defend himself nor rebut in the same court because the charge itself does not require him to.

In fact, the charge of possession and distribution does not even need to establish who the actor and actresses are, yet expect this sordid bit of information to take centre stage in the court proceedings.

The Datuk T trio will see their day in court but it will not be to establish the truth. Instead the court case will be used as a stage to further spread lies and insinuations. All for the express purpose of advancing the UMNO elite's charge against Anwar Ibrahim and bulldozing him away from the Malaysian political scene.

- Malaysia Chronicle