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Monday, July 22, 2013

Anwar: Why is the AG so keen to appeal Sodomy II, why not the Altantuya murder

Anwar: Why is the AG so keen to appeal Sodomy II, why not the Altantuya murder
UPDATED VIDEOS INSERTED PUTRAJAYA - Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has slammed the Malaysian government's appeal against his sodomy acquittal as smacking of political motives, pointing to the shock appointment of Umno lawyer Shafee Abdullah as lead prosecutor as proof of his claims.
Anwar also demanded to know why he was being picked on by the Attorney General, whom he said did "not even appeal against the Altantuya case". The Altantuya Shaariibu case is perhaps Malaysia's most infamous murder case, where Prime Minister Najib Razak and his associate Razak Baginda have been accused of being involved in.
"Our position is that the conduct of this case from 1998-99 till now has been very unprofessional. I can understand the Attorney-General's Chambers may be short of talent but there is no excuse to appoint someone so heavily tainted to be involved in allegations against me. He has been casting aspersions using the court and outside the court for whatever dubious reasons," Anwar told reporters outside the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya on Monday.
"The AG has not appealed many major cases . He has not even appealed against the Altantuya case but chose to do this at the behest of the Umno leaders purely to try and frustrate my political activities."
Shock appointment reeking of political motives
Ramkarpal Singh, who is one of Anwar's defense team, said they would be filing an objection to Shafee's appointment, citing the latter's well-known links with Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno party.
The two-day appeal hearing was postponed as lead defense counsel Karpal Singh is ill. The 3-man appellate panel led by Justice Ramli Ally has set August 1 for case management.
Meanwhile, Anwar's wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Omar, who is also the PKR president, questioned Shafee's appointment on the grounds that he was a person "clearly against us".
"I was surprised that the AG has appointed Shafee Abdullah. I remember he was the lawyer who was against us in Permatang Pauh which we won. He is clearly someone against us and we protest against his appointment.
Retribution of the "highest and most menacing order"
Another PKR bigwig who was also in court to support Anwar was vice president Chua Jui Meng.
"Here we go round the mulberry bush, going round and round with one purpose which is to destroy the political career of Anwar Ibrahim. This is not reconciliation, this is retribution of the highest and most menacing order," Jui Meng told reporters at the court lobby.
"They are a minority government and must learn to be humble and not keep on pursuing and trying to get a conviction. Having faced the ballot box, they lost the majority, so they are pursuing again. This is the NEP all over again, never-ending policy and never-ending prosecution and persecution."
Jui Meng was referring to Malaysia's controversial New Economic Policy, which began in 1971 to uplift the economic prospects of the Malay community and is still ongoing.
Anwar's daughter Nurul Izzah, who is also the MP for Lembah Pantai, also criticized the Najib administration for raking up the case.
"You know, it's surprising the AG has decided to pursue the appeal when he has ignored key cases including that of Razak Baginda but this is the reality in Malaysia," a rather pensive Nurul told reporters at the court lobby.
"We just have to face this the best we can and pray to God for justice to prevail and a better outcome especially now that it's Ramadan."

Nothing controversial, I'm not an Umno member - Shafee
Meanwhile, Umno lawyer Shafee Abdullah denied there was anything controversial about his appointment, adding that he was confident of overturning the appeal.
"Why should it be controversial? I am not an Umno member. I was appointed by the Attorney general," he told reporters at the court lobby.
Shafee also referred to other cases where lawyers in private practice had been roped in to help the government, such as in the Tan Beng Hock inquest.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court had on Jan 9 acquitted and discharged Anwar on a charge of sodomising his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008. Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mat Diah had ruled that the court found the complainant’s testimony uncorroborated.
The judge also said that the court could not be 100 per cent certain that the integrity of the DNA samples was not compromised.
In explaining its decision to appeal, the Attorney-General's Chambers said it was guided by "evidence" and acting in accordance with the law.
“The decision to file this notice of appeal will enable this department to obtain the full written judgment of the learned judge and the record of the proceedings from the High Court; and accordingly will be able to appreciate the grounds considered by the learned judge in arriving at that decision,” the chambers said in a statement.

MORE TO COME
Malaysia Chronicle

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