The Autumn of Anwar

Pulling every cable he knows and trick he can use, Anwar Ibrahim has been at his wits’ ends to lobby for support before he stands in court on October 28th, to hear the final appeal against his conviction and jail sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal earlier this year for having sodomised Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 27.

Image from Malaysiakini

Seemingly nonchalant about his imminent twist of fate, Anwar brazenly announced his intention to defy the ban to address undergraduates in UM campus tomorrow in what could be foreshadowing of the fate that awaits him. He rose to fame as an undergraduate in his alma mater, and will take his final bow at curtain call there in the autumn of his political career.

In a last ditch effort  to tug the heartstrings of supporters, Anwar posted a picture of him playing with his grandson in his Facebook account asking if he will see his grandchildren grow up.

In the same vein, Nurul Izzah released an emotional video on her YouTube page recalling her father’s trials and tribulations as  dedication towards fighting for reform and appealed for solidarity for Anwar at the end.

The heart of the appeal, however, is not about Anwar’s record of accomplishments or failures. It is NOT about his grandchildren, reformasi, corruption, or whatever perceived travesty of justice as propagated by Nick Xenophon. It is about how the Court found Anwar guilty of having sodomised Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 27.

Lame attempts to galvanize support from foreign countries e.g. US have failed to trigger international support for Anwar. Instead, objections such as those from US Embassy in Malaysia have underscored the implied deep links Anwar has with those countries.

Because Anwar traipsed around the globe to garner international support for his case by criticizing the government, foreign countries have assumed it is their right to condemn Malaysia for what they perceive as ‘wrong’ when in reality, their own motherland fares worse.

Deceptively, activitists and pro-Pakatan writers have obfuscated the issue by condemning the government for not banning the Sedition Act, by disrespectfully accusing the Prime Minister of being out of the country on trips, by slamming the PM for his lack of action in the MH370 tragedy without acknowleging how the PM independently managed to broker a deal with the Ukrainian rebels in the MH 17 tragedy.

Clearly, major issues that show up Pakatan Rakyat’s weaknesses are covered up, by bringing to remembrance the promises made by the Prime Minister without giving him credit when credit is due, especially in economic development.

What many refuse to acknowledge is that Anwar's second sodomy trial at the High Court was postponed almost 70 times. Shockingly, the postponement was granted at the request of Anwar's defense team for various reasons, among others, to have the trial judge recuse himself from hearing his case.

When the prosecution's appeal against his acquittal came up at the Court of Appeal, the appeal was postponed more than five times because of several applications filed by Anwar. Yet, Anwar supporters still insist they are not being treated fairly – but in whose eyes?

Anwar and his motley crew of foreign media reporters seem to be in overdrive to highlight other issues such as blown-up statements about youth support for the Opposition, fraud, corruption, and ‘massive gerrymandering’ show the invisible connection between them. Bound in a common mission to destabilize the country, Anwar and his crew have no qualms about plucking anything from the air to fight for justice for Anwar when in fact; those objections and rants raised have nothing to do with the charge and sentence against him for sodomizing Saiful.

Double standards reign. They are not being fair to Malaysia by making unreasonable demands whilst the court, even though fair and just to Anwar’s case even to the extent of making so many postponements, has been bending backwards in their positive response to Anwar’s requests.

Suffice to say even if and when the court makes a just decision based on evidence, Anwar supporters will still insist the court has not been fair to Anwar.

No foreign media made reference to the  85-page written judgment dated April 11 by Justice Balia Yusof and two other justices, Datuk Aziah Ali and Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, who “ruled that it is safe for the court to convict Anwar on the charge of having sodomised Mohd Saiful as there was ample evidence which could be confirmed and proved.

The court said that even assuming that there was no corroboration to support Mohd Saiful’s evidence on the factum of penetration, it was safe to convict Anwar.

Many have failed to take cognizance that the panel held that Anwar’s statement from the dock in his defense against the sodomy charge as a mere denial, which did not amount to any doubt. They opined that for Anwar to succeed in his defense, it was incumbent upon him to adduce evidence to refute the allegations leveled against him.

The panel noted that Anwar had NOT even denied that he was at the scene of the crime at the material time and date as stated in the charge.

Note what the three judges said in their April 11 judgement:

“He never disputed that his car was seen entering and leaving the condominium at the material time. He also did not dispute that he was seen entering the lift to the fifth floor of the condominium and later leaving the place,” said the three judges.

Unlike others who make their decisions on hear say or unsupported evidence, our Malaysian court  abides by the law and passes judgement on evidence or the lack of evidence.

Clearly, the three judges must have taken in consideration the circumstances and seriousness of the offence and weighed these against public interest. That the judges even spared Anwar the punishment of whipping has not been highlighted.

Instead, Anwaristas have chosen to pull wool over our eyes by reminding us of Anwar’s black eye episode, 2013 elections, corruption etc all of which has nothing to do with Sodomy II.

The writing is clear on the wall for the moment of reckoning has come for Anwar to exit elegantly instead of fighting tooth and nail to support his premise of innocence that could never pass the litmus test.

All the leaves are brown, Anwar, but we will not miss you much when your autumn leaves begin to fall…