Enough is enough, says Anwar

The opposition leader calls on the government to stop the personal attacks against him and his family and focus on policy debates.

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim called on the government to stop all the political posturing related to his sodomy trial.

He was responding to the prosecution’s consideration to appeal against the High Court’s verdict although he maintained it was their right to appeal.

“It’s up to the prosecution particularly the Attorney-General to decide,” he told reporters after performing Friday prayers at the Jamek Mosque in Kampung Baru here.

“We are clear with the facts of the law and I think they should not have any political machinations beyond (the law).”

On Wednesday, Anwar’s accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s father, Azlan Mohd Lazim, called on Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail to appeal the opposition leader’s acquittal.

Later that evening, Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden said he would act on it and recommend a review of the court’s verdict.

He was the lead prosecutor in the high-profile two-year trial.

Yusof said they would first wait for the written judgment before proceeding to appeal.

Anwar’s backers said the decision to appeal could also mean a top-level conspiracy to end the former deputy prime minister’s political career.

In an unprecedented move, Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee urged the prosecution not to appeal against the ruling.

Government leaders, however, said the prosecution had every right to appeal as it was in accordance with the law.

Upon his release, Anwar said the verdict should put an end to the speculation around the issue.

He urged those in power to stop the personal attacks against him and his family and focus on policy debates as both sides of the political divide gear up for national polls.

Anwar had openly accused Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor as the architects behind the sodomy charges, his second in 10 years.

He was similarly acquitted in the first trial after serving six years in jail, a decision he reiterated as proof of his innocence.