Did Zabidin let his conscience be his own judge?

YOURSAY 'On the balance of probabilities and knowing Umno's vindictiveness, I think the judge decided on a courageous decision for his swan song.'

Sodomy II verdict: Anwar NOT guilty!

Kgen: Did High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah decide to stand up to the corrupt forces controlling him or did Umno decide to let Anwar Ibrahim go?

One critical fact is that Zabidin is going to retire after this so being promoted is not on his mind. Frankly, Zabidin was not very fair during the trial and all indications were that he would find Anwar guilty.

I suppose we will never know the answer but on the balance of probabilities and knowing Umno's vindictiveness, I think the judge decided on a courageous decision for his swan song.

Think about it, would Umno have allowed Anwar to get away scot-free after all the trouble they went to? He would at least be found guilty, and if not jailed, fined more than RM2,000, to put him out of politics.

Milosevic: My advice for Anwar: Please don't hire young men whom you don't really know to be your private valet anymore.

The nation should not be put through all these years of distraction. Focus on the job you need to do. Preferably have your wife with you all the time and have meetings in public places, not hideaway condominiums.

Please be a firm advocate of the fundamental right of adults to have sex with whomever they want if it is consensual and do not play religious games with personal morality.

In fact, do not play any more religious games. Don't contaminate the running of Malaysia - requiring only transparent and decent economic and political policies - with all the religious posturing you like to do.

Keep Malaysia secular, tolerant and leave religion to individual conscience. Believe me, it will produce a really moral society.

Tbala: Don't be too happy. We have to win at the semifinal (Court of Appeal) and final (Federal Court) to claim victory.

Umno is at work and they prefer to lose here and win at either at the Court of Appeal or the Federal Court so that they can show to the world that the courts are fair.

They made former Selangor MB Mohamad Khir Toyo lose and made Anwar win ... there must be a reason.

Pemerhati: The unfair manner in which the trial was conducted strongly indicated that PM Najib Razak was going to send Anwar to prison by using the ‘kangaroo' judge.

The ‘not guilty' verdict is again a reflection of Najib's well-known vacillating and indecisive character because he must have been wondering what to do until the very last moment.

In the end, he decided that it was better for him to keep Anwar out of prison. It probably dawned on him that when Dr Mahathir Mohamad pulled the same stunt, he was punished by the Malay electorate but was saved by the Chinese vote.

Now if he were to send Anwar to prison again, the Malays may react in the same way. As this time around the Chinese support for BN has drastically dwindled, it could result in BN's defeat at the coming polls.

But then again next week, true to his character, he may change his mind and decide to appeal and get the ‘kangaroos' in the appellate court to send Anwar to prison.

Irrespective of what happens, the focus of all sensible Malaysians should be on ABU (Anything But Umno).

Proarte: Anwar deserved an acquittal based on the bizarre nature of the charges and ridiculous evidence presented in court.

From the outset, the trial was flawed. We remember how the complainant went to Najib two days before the alleged crime.

Najib had initially denied meeting him but then changed his tune and said Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was merely requesting a 'scholarship' (for a university drop-out?).

Najib also played the role of 'agony uncle' hearing of Saiful's repeated rape by Anwar. Initially the charges were of consensual sex, but then this was changed to rape.

Why a rape victim should then go a few days later to get 'raped' again by someone who happens to be Najib's bitter political enemy raises serious doubts.

Laughably Saiful lodged a report two days after the alleged sodomy and conveniently said he did not defecate thus making the presence of denatured semen in his rectum vaguely plausible.

Yet the 'pristine' DNA was identified against all odds. Anwar is clearly innocent beyond reasonable doubt.

Thiswayoutplease: 2012 is a year of new beginnings. Already there are signs that the Year of the Dragon will bring good fortune to Malaysia and Malaysians. See the signs:

1) DSAI is vindicated - not guilty of sodomy charge
2) Two senior Umno members joined DAP
3) Zaid Abrahim apologises to DSAI - what a gentleman.
4) Hasan Ali sacked from PAS
5) University students increasing political awareness
6) MCA is imploding with its senior members resigning
7) NFC - a nightmare for Umno
8) Successful Bersih 2.0 outing

1M: Attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, after wasting so much of the taxpayers' money and time, why not move on to a sure-can-win case with plenty of evidence locally and abroad, and go after Sarawak CM Abdul Taib Mahmud?

BN MP: Najib's approval rating set to soar
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/186086

Ashoka PJ: Kota Belud MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan, we the rakyat are not as gullible as you think we are. Firstly, we know that Anwar was acquitted because the government was worried about the backlash from the rakyat.

Did you see the crowd today at the courts - pro-Anwar more than 5,000 and pro-BN, 50? I think the government has finally come to realise that they are not in power. The rakyat is now in power.

Either way they lose. But if they had convicted Anwar, they lose big.

And don't think that the rakyat is fed up with BN because of their treatment of Anwar alone. Anwar is just a small reason for many of us. The rakyat is actually fed up with all the corruption, bigotry, racist laws, etc. Enough is enough.

Wira: Why should anyone be thankful to Najib for the just conclusion to a trial which shouldn't be there in the first place?

Confused: The politics in this country never ceases to amaze me. In the first place, Najib was the one who tried putting Anwar behind bars. Now he wants to claim some political mileage with the 'not guilty' verdict. I don't think we are that stupid!

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: The 15 percent to 30 percent fence-sitters are not that stupid to suddenly throw their support behind Najib just because of this verdict.

Why weren't the charges dropped earlier at the close of the prosecution's case? Why did Umno, Perkasa, Pekida and other right-wing Malay NGOs go on the offensive using the Malay press and government-controlled media to demonise, vilify, condemn, denigrate and embarrass Anwar and his family in utter disregard for the presumption of innocence, Islamic justice and fairness, Malay culture and decorum?

Would the Malay fence-sitter voters forget this? There are bigger issues facing Najib namely endemic corruption and abuses by Umno ministers and politicians; the economic slowdown; raising prices; lower incomes and declining standards of living.

What has the PM done so far to remedy these issues expect for making pious announcements; conducting public relations exercises and jet-setting around the world with his wife, Rosmah Mansor?
Najib has always been about style but little substance.

Anonymous_3e4b: The Kota Belud MP is a real cartoon. How can Najib's ratings soar when Anwar is found not guilty?

It is Anwar's ratings which will soar sky high. In the first place, most educated urbanites see this case as 'Fitnah II' - a politically motivated sex case to discredit Anwar.

Now the kampong Malays who are mostly staunch Umno supporters will know that Anwar is being fixed to go through these ordeals.

As such, some of them who are truly Muslim will lean towards Anwar as they know Anwar was really ‘fitnah-ed' in both 'Fitnah I and Fitnah II'. - Malaysiakini