Anwar not seeking to punish judges, but wants Shafee dealt with

Incoming PKR president Anwar Ibrahim said he will not seek for the judges who sent him to prison to be punished, but nevertheless wants alleged injustices in the Sodomy II case to be addressed.

He said this in response to lawyer SN Nair calling for an inquiry into Anwar’s past three convictions – one for abuse of power, and two for sodomy.

According to the lawyer, since Anwar was pardoned by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong on the grounds of miscarriage of justice, the judges who convicted him must be guilty of not dispensing justice according to the law and of failing to uphold their judicial oath.

Anwar told reporters today that he was more interested in correcting injustices instead, such as with the allegation RM9.5 million received by prosecutor Muhammad Shafee Abdullah from former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

“We have already applied to the courts on the issue of prosecutor Shafee receiving RM9.5 million.

“That compromised the case, and through that, we will naturally bring up the case regarding the frivolous decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.

"And I think if there is any sense about justice and a necessity to correct the inherent wrongs, the judicial heads now must take the necessary immediate action,” he said.

Anwar was attending the launch of a book titled Anwar Returns: The Final Twist at the Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur today.

During the prosecution against Anwar at the Court of Appeal in the Sodomy II case, the government made the unusual move of hiring lawyer Shafee as the lead prosecutor instead of relying on public prosecutors.

In November last year, Anwar's bid to set aside his Sodomy II conviction over the alleged RM9.5 million payment to Shafee was struck out by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Anwar appealed the decision, the hearing of which has been fixed for Sept 14. -Mkini