Why so many special branch members in the courtroom, asks PKR

PKR supreme council Datuk Saifuddin Nasution today questioned the number of police special branch personnel in the courtroom to follow Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy appeal. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 31, 2014.

PKR has questioned the number of police special branch (SB) personnel in the courtroom to follow Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy appeal as others, including the media, have been denied access.

PKR supreme council Datuk Saifuddin Nasution said there were at least 15 policemen in the courtroom and some were sleeping while the case was proceeding.

“The issue is limited space but why so many police personnel in the courtroom?” he told reporters during the break today.

He said there were already many policemen outside the court and‎ there was no reason to place SB officers in the courtroom.

Saifuddin said seats were allocated to Anwar's family members, foreign observers and diplomats, elected representatives, media and the public.

He said only 15 passes were initially issued to the media and most were allocated to local mainstream media.

"If you look at their coverage, it looked as if the DPP ‎(Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah) was submitting when it was Anwar's lawyers who were presenting their case," he said.

He expressed hope that ‎the situation would be rectified on Monday, the last day of the hearing.

In the past, it was the court that decided how many people entered the courtroom while the role of police was mainly to provide security.

However, this time around, the media had to register with police who decided on the number of‎ people who entered the courtroom.

- TMI