Saiful won’t go away just yet, says WSJ

By Debra Chong

January 11, 2012

Saiful (centre) maintains he was sodomised by Anwar. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been acquitted of sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan but is unlikely to rest easy while his accuser is pushing the public prosecutor to appeal, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

The opposition leader’s bid to move forward and win voter support for his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance in its fight against Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional (BN) on economic reforms is likely to be crimped by lingering allegations over his sexuality brought on by the sodomy case.

The influential US daily said the two-year courtroom drama was far from over for Anwar and for Malaysia’s 28 million people, suggesting that Saiful may still play a key role in the next few months.

In an article titled, “What’s next for Anwar’s accuser?” the newspaper reported that Saiful had worked briefly to help Anwar’s opposition campaign in the landmark Election 2008 that saw the PKR-DAP-PAS parties win a third of the 222-seat Parliament, denying the BN its traditional supermajority.

“Volunteers such as Mr Saiful helped make a crucial difference,” the WSJ said.

Following Anwar’s acquittal, political and economic observers say PM Najib may call for elections as early as March to capitalise on his feel-good Budget 2012 and push forward political and economic reforms to strengthen Malaysia’s competitiveness amid a wobbly world economy.

The BN’s mandate only expires in mid 2013.

Saiful, under heavy fire from Anwar’s supporters, has taken to social media channels Twitter and Facebook to voice his thoughts.

The 26-year-old former Anwar aide and his family insist the sodomy happened and has publicly pushed for continued legal action, “My family and I hope the prosecution will bring this case to the Appeals Court.”

The Attorney-General has about two weeks to decide if they plan to appeal the High Court’s acquittal of Anwar. They have not said anything on that score.

The PKR advisor and de facto head of the PR pact was charged with sodomising former aide Saiful at a posh condominium in upscale Damansara Heights in June 2008, months before winning his old Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election.

Anwar maintains the sodomy charge was politically motivated to stop his march towards Putrajaya. Najib’s government had denied the allegation.

The WSJ also reported that there is enough uncertainty around the sodomy case to suggest that Malaysian voters have made up their minds about Anwar’s sexuality and are unlikely to budge.

It highlighted last year’s sex video scandal released by three of Anwar’s former friends-turned-foes, which they claim shows the 64-year-old having a sex with an alleged prostitute.

“Mr Anwar and his family deny he is the man in the tape, but the lingering controversy suggests that Malaysia’s political dramas might continue for months yet,” the newspaper said.