WHAT IS CHANDRA SAYING? ‘Anwar can make a comeback if BN fails to govern well’

KUALA LUMPUR - Former PKR deputy president Dr Chandra Muzaffar said the Federal Court delivered a fair verdict against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Federal Court today rejected the Opposition leader’s appeal to set aside his Sodomy 2 conviction, stating that there was clear evidence that he had sodomised his now former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan seven years ago.

The political analyst said the judgement and argument put forward by the five-member panel, led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, had refuted arguments by the defence team.

“Let us not forget that Anwar had weakened his own case by not allowing himself to be cross-examined.

“Unlike the first sodomy trial in 1998 when he testified as a sworn witness in the witness box, this time he chose to give an unsworn statement from the dock.

“He also did not offer an alibi and was not prepared to offer his DNA sample, which might had saved him if the sample did not match,” he told The Rakyat Post.

He said it was vintage Anwar when he blew the chance to mitigate his sentence by condemning the court in telling it not to remain on the “dark side”.

Chandra, who joined Anwar to start PKR in 1998 and left the party in 2001, said Anwar had always talked about conspiracy.

He said Anwar might still make a comeback, provided Barisan Nasional did not govern well.

Meanwhile, former International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) law lecturer Dr Abdul Aziz Bari was confident that Pakatan Rakyat would not crumble with Anwar back in jail.

“Anwar is still a factor whether he is inside or outside the jail although the impact is yet to be seen this time.

“But with a much better and stronger alternative media now compared to 1998 when Anwar was first jailed, it won’t be easy to write him off.”

He added that Anwar’s latest conviction once again indicated the judiciary’s inability to disentangle itself from political interference.

He said while the court could trumpet its impartiality, the public would view the judges as too weak to decide on their own.

On the low turnout at Anwar’s last rally on Monday night, he said it was not an issue as people could follow it on the Internet.

“Don’t be fooled by the turnout. I don’t think it reflects the people’s support.

“In fact, the conviction has set the people’s mind, including among Malays and Umno members, that the case was a political conspiracy.”

Anwar will serve his sentence at the Sungai Buloh Prison. - http://www.therakyatpost.com/