Anwar fails to move qazaf proceedings against Saiful

The Syariah Appellate Court today rejected the appeal by Anwar Ibrahim to continue the qazaf proceeding against the PKR de facto leader's former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The court said the appeal to resume proceedings, which was first initiated in 2008, was rejected because the documents were not in order.

The matter was decided by judge Md Yusup Che Tah, who said he did not receive the relevant documents which Anwar's legal counsel said was filed on Feb 21, 2012.

Anwar's counsel Rafie Mohd Shafie said he had received instructions to bring the matter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's attention, so the qazaf proceedings can resume.

He said Anwar will file an application to review today's decision.

"We will seek an audience with the Agong in the next fortnight and raise two things - review the decision and to strike out statements made," he told reporters after the decision was delivered today.

Rafie earlier said Anwar's legal team had filed the documents through the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court registar Muhammad Khairul Nizam Kassim, although the team was initially prevented from doing so.

Malaysiakini's checks found that documents in Rafie's possession had the registrar's stamp, but the same document was not given to the judge, resulting in today's decision.

Anwar, who was present today, questioned how this could happen.

"We fail at the Syariah Court so we will appeal to the Agong, because we have submitted to the registrar but now the records are no longer there," he said.

Anwar is serving a five-year sentence for sodomising Saiful Bukhari, a charge which he has consistently called "politically motivated" and denied.

He filed a qazaf claim against Saiful Bukhari, for failing to present four witnesses to support his accusation that Anwar had sodomised him in 2008.

Qazaf under syariah law is the offence of accusing someone of having illicit sex without proof.