Sodomy II is not about finding Anwar guilty

If Umno wanted to find Opposition leady Anwar Ibrahim guilty, they would have done so a long time ago and locked him up, but that would have made him a martyr. On the other hand, Umno found it reprehensible that Anwar could be free to galvanise the opposition and present a formidable fighting force against Umno/BN.

The next best alternative was to make Anwar’s life a living hell. That is what this farcical trial is all about.

Sodomy II is not about finding Anwar guilty. It is about delay tactics towards the general election. It is about rendering the Opposition useless or making it less potent, because Anwar would be distracted and be made weary by the trial, and hence Pakatan would lose its momentum.

Whether he is behind bars or not, Anwar presents a formidable threat to BN. Umno is damned if they lock him up and damned if they don’t.

The whole world knows that Sodomy II is based on trumped-up charges by a teaboy who cannot see that he is being used as a political pawn in the bigger picture to discredit Anwar.

Even the village idiot can see that this trial should have been thrown out of ages ago. There are too many flaws in just about every aspect of the case from the investigation to the forensic analysis.

This sham trial might as well have as its chief prosecutor the same celebrated lawyer Abdul Razak Musa for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commision in the inquest of Teoh Beng Hock, the DAP political analyst who died in mysterious circumstances.

Abdul Razak said that Teoh had strangled himself and then demonstrated to the court how Teoh could have attempted self-strangulation.

If Abdul Razak were in Sodomy II, he could demonstrate how Saiful might have sodomised himself. That might explain how Saiful’s own semen had been found in his own rectum.

The investigating officer, Supt Jude Blacious Pereira, does not seem to possess highly developed problem solving skills.

During Pereira’s cross-examination, statements had apparently been taken from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, in relation to the sodomy charge against Anwar. However, the officer denied meeting Najib over the case.

Initially Najib, too, had denied having met Saiful, until he was shown photos of Saiful. All this reminds us of Bill Clinton who also initially denied meeting Monica Lewinsky and famously said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”.

Monica’s blue semen stained dress was sold at auction for US$1.25 million. Saiful probably wishes he could do the same when his money and luck run out. One doubts he would have any takers.

The cross-examination of chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong was equally frustrating. Her inability to test two other DNA profiles and labeling of the evidence was slapdash. International practice dictates that samples would be rejected if such discrepancies were detected.

Anwar’s lawyers cast doubt on the DNA evidence collected by the police, including obtaining evidence from Anwar Ibrahim’s cell. They accuse the police of tampering and planting evidence as had happened in Sodomy I. In that 1998-1999 trial, DNA taken from Anwar’s blood samples had been planted on a mattress.

In civilized parts of the world, this case would have been thrown out. Forensic science technicians must not only know the proper collection and storage procedures but they must also be able to advise others of these procedures, so that this delicate collection can be completed by first responders to the crime scene as well as by investigating officers.

Umno is consumed with the persecution and prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim. In their eyes, Sodomy II is about Anwar. In our eyes, Sodomy II is about putting democracy on trial.

Umno has already decided what Anwar's fate is. However, it forgets that Pakatan will go on with or without Anwar. Jailing Anwar will make him Malaysia’s own Mandela. - Malaysia Chronicle