Archive for category Court
Judiciary still in winter of emasculation
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Constitution, Court, Judiciary on Thursday, 12 January 2012
— by Bob Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 12, 2012
JAN 12 — Let’s not be beguiled by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s claim of the judiciary’s independence following the High Court’s full acquittal and discharge of Anwar Ibrahim from the charge of sodomy. As succinctly put by an international civil liberties watchdog, the Opposition leader should not have been charged in the first place.
Anwar’s three trials over 20 years were simply an abuse of due process; nothing more than Umno’s dirty and sordid politics to rid itself of its arch nemesis involving all three prime ministers in a row.
Don’t be misled, a swallow doth not a summer maketh. We are still deep in the winter of an emasculated judiciary frozen since the Mahathir ice age. We need more evidence of courage and boldness from our judges before we can hope to thaw into a new spring.
But credit must be given to where it’s due. Recent judgments indicate some judges are willing to go into early retirement or be put into the cold storage by going the extra mile in their adjudication. The High Court’s judgment against the government in the Allah case is a case in point. There are a few others that are noteworthy. Read the rest of this entry »
Hold The Accolades!
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Bakri Musa, Court, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 11 January 2012
by M. Bakri Musa
Now that Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah has acquitted Anwar Ibrahim on his “Sodomy II” charge, there is no end of praise heaped upon the judge specifically and the system of justice generally. Prime Minister Najib was quick with his smug assertion that “neither politics nor politicians have any influence over the dispensation of justice.” Foreign governments too have been effusive with their praises. Some now brazenly call for Anwar Ibrahim to apologize for his earlier criticisms of the system.
Hold the accolades! This sordid trial reveals everything that is rotten with the Malaysian system of justice. This case should never have been prosecuted in the first place. That it was reflected the level or more precisely lack of professionalism on the part of these career prosecutors. As for the trial, there were many instances where the judge could have thrown the case out, as when the physical evidence was introduced. Now the learned judge used that as the reason for acquittal. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar verdict resets Malaysian politics
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Judiciary on Wednesday, 11 January 2012
By Simon Roughneen
Asia Times
KUALA LUMPUR – A not-guilty verdict in a sex scandal case against Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim could prove a game-changer in the run-up to elections due by 2013 but thought by many analysts to be held this year.
After months of railing against what he deemed trumped-up and politicized charges, Anwar cut an understandably cheerful and relieved dash on Monday morning when speaking to perhaps 3,000 supporters outside the Kuala Lumpur court where he was acquitted of charges of sodomizing a male party aide in 2008. Sodomy is a criminal offense punishable by 20 years in prison in Malaysia, where Muslim citizens are subject to sharia law. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Moment of Sanity
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Judiciary on Wednesday, 11 January 2012
By Bridget Welsh
The Wall Street Journal
Yesterday’s acquittal of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on the charge of sodomy ends two and a half years of a bad sequel. After being convicted once in 2000 on the same charge and subsequently exonerated on appeal, this time the court found that the prosecution failed to prove its case.
The decision is a moment of sanity after three years of political turmoil since the March 2008 polls. That election effectively broke the stranglehold on power of the incumbent Barisan Nasional, the National Front coalition, which lost its two-thirds majority in parliament. After the loss, the ruling United Malays National Organization seemed to go back to its mode of personal-attack politics, as practiced by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The new accusation against Mr. Anwar also signaled a return to the ways of the Mahathir era. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar’s problems are not over yet
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court on Tuesday, 10 January 2012
By Sakmongkol AK47 | 10 January 2012
Anwar has been acquitted. I don’t wish to douse the flames of enthusiasm that was evident on the faces and response from his supporters. Family members and friends were elated. I am watching out for possible landmines.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Anwar said, this present case shouldn’t be considered as a landmark case representing the independence of the judiciary. The only concession he made was to recognize the courage of the presiding judge to arrive at this particular verdict. It will be interesting to watch what happens in the coming months.
The future of Malaysia will depend on what happens within one or two weeks after the Anwar verdict. He has been acquitted. However I do not think he is out of the woods yet. Despite being acquitted Anwar is circumspect about the judiciary. His acquittal does not prove the judiciary is independent he says. Now, that is somewhat ominous. Why would Anwar say that?
Read the rest of this entry »
After sodomy acquittal, Malaysia’s Anwar pressing for power
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court on Tuesday, 10 January 2012
By Simon Roughneen, Correspondent | January 9, 2012
The Christian Science Monitor
Monday’s surprise acquittal of Malaysia’s opposition leader in a sodomy trial that many viewed as politically motivated eases the prospect of unrest in the multi-ethnic country, one of southeast Asia’s largest tourist draws.
The potential for trouble was highlighted by three small explosions near the courthouse on Monday morning, injuring several people, while a jubilant Anwar Ibrahim mingled with a raucous, fist-pumping crowd of several thousand supporters. Mr. Anwar, a former government insider who has been hounded by legal actions over alleged sodomy since he broke with Malaysia’s ruling party in the 1990s said, “I thank God for this great news, I am finally vindicated.”
The ruling benefits not only Anwar, who’s planning to run for prime minister in upcoming elections, but it may also help the current government burnish democratic credentials dimmed by trials like Anwar’s and the detention of other political opponents.
A guilty verdict would have shown-up the judicial system as unfair, says Greg Lopez, who studies Malaysia at Australian National University, and would have “made a martyr” out of Anwar.
Read the rest of this entry »
A grave injustice avoided
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 10 January 2012
By Ooi Kee Beng | January 10, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
JAN 10 — The High Court verdict on Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial must be seen as a big triumph for the three-member opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
One of the biggest challenges that it has in trying to win federal power is to convince voters that it has the leaders needed for such a change in paradigm.
And whatever the ideology of its component parties, they have to deal with the reality that a PR prime minister must come from the Malay community. Whether or not Democratic Action Party stalwart Lim Kit Siang can be accepted as deputy prime minister is one thing, but a non-Malay as top leader is still not thinkable in this time and age.
That is why so much energy had over the last few years been put by opinion makers supportive of the ruling Barisan Nasional into questioning the suitability of Anwar to become prime minister. The latest to join this choir was surprisingly blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, a one-time Anwar supporter.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reform or inertia? It’s gone past that by now
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 10 January 2012
By Farish A. Noor | January 09, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
JAN 9 — It has been a rather long time since I have had any reason to be thankful or optimistic about where Malaysia is heading, but today I allowed myself a small helping of optimism (and I hasten to add it was a small helping) as a result of the judgement that was passed (or rather not passed) on Anwar Ibrahim.
Others have already sagely noted that it is too early to jump the gun and proclaim that Malaysia is on the path of genuine institutional reform, though I was pleased to see that the charges against Anwar were thrown out for the best of reasons, namely that there was little that could be used against the man.
Decades from now a movie might be made about the life of Anwar Ibrahim, and though he — and Malaysia — cannot be said to be an individual or country that merits such global attention it has to be conceded that very few individuals have had to go through what he has been through, along with his long-suffering family.
Read the rest of this entry »
After Acquittal, Malaysian Political Icon Looks to Poll
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 10 January 2012
By JAMES HOOKWAY | JANUARY 10, 2012
WSJ
KUALA LUMPUR—His unexpected acquittal on sodomy charges Monday frees Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim finally to look past his trial and on toward the country’s coming national election.
The verdict by Judge Zabidin Diah at the High Court could also warm this key Muslim nation’s relations with the U.S. as the Obama administration tries to build stronger ties across Asia. Malaysia’s government described the verdict as proof it doesn’t try to sway court decisions, a frequent accusation of Mr. Anwar and other opposition activists. Mr. Anwar himself, speaking to a swarm of television crews outside the packed courtroom, described it as a surprise and a vindication.
Now the 64-year-old opposition leader is shifting focus to the election, which must be called by March of next year. Analysts predict it will be a closely contested battle between him and Prime Minister Najib Razak for the center ground of a country that has shown a growing desire for political and economic change over the past few months.
Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar acquittal boosts Malaysia’s opposition
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 10 January 2012
By Dr Ooi Kee Beng | 9 January 2012
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
BBC News
To the great surprise of many of his followers, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was found not guilty of the sodomy charge brought against him by a former aide.
High Court judge Zabidin Mohamad Diah declared him innocent early on Monday morning, while huge crowds gathered outside the building in support of the former deputy prime minister. The DNA samples presented by the prosecution to prove Mr Anwar’s guilt, he decided, were compromised.
The unexpected verdict may not prove that the judiciary is free of the executive, but it does show that the executive is not all-powerful.
This is also the second time Mr Anwar has been acquitted on such a charge. After being sacked as the country’s second most powerful person by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed back in September 1998, he was jailed for misuse of power for six years. Just when a consecutive nine-year jail sentence for sodomy was to be served, the Federal Court overturned the decision in 2004.
Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar’s acquittal and the 901 rally
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 10 January 2012
By Kee Thuan Chye | Jan 9, 2012
Malaysiakini
Anwar Ibrahim is free! Many people did not expect he would be acquitted by the High Court judge presiding over his Sodomy II trial.
In fact, the situation looked dire for Anwar when the judge ruled in May that Anwar’s alleged victim, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, was a truthful and credible witness.
But now the judge feels that Saiful’s testimony is not enough to convict Anwar (left) because it is uncorroborated. More important to the judge is his uncertainty about the integrity of the DNA samples, and that is his main reason for acquitting Anwar.
Does this mean that the episode is over? No. The government can still appeal. And who knows what the outcome of the appeal might be?
I would say, however, that the government should not appeal. This would drag the case on and on again, and it’s already drained such a lot of resources – the rakyat’s money, the rakyat’s emotions – and tarnished the country’s image.
Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar Ibrahim Acquitted of Sodomy Charges
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 10 January 2012
By John Berthelsen | 9 JANUARY 2012
asiasentinel
Now what?
As thousands of supporters cheered outside the court, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was found not guilty of sodomy charges by High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah, who said “the court cannot be 100 percent certain that DNA was not contaminated.”
Under Malaysia’s system of justice, the prosecution is allowed to appeal a not-guilty verdict. Prior to the ruling, some observers in Kuala Lumpur suggested the government would do just that, which would keep Anwar tied up in legal matters for as long as another year through an expected election. Under a scenario described to Asia Sentinel several weeks ago, the government, knowing a guilty verdict would make Anwar a martyr, would opt to have the judge rule him not guilty and appeal.
“The prosecution has a month to decide whether to appeal,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer. “They have to examine the decision and attempt to discover if they have grounds for an appeal. But this is Malaysian politics. You have to look at the scenario. From a legal and jurisprudential point of view, there were too many inconsistencies to warrant a conviction. But from a political point of view, anything can happen.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Winners and losers
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 9 January 2012
— The Malaysian Insider
Jan 09, 2012
JAN 9 — This was a verdict out of the left field. There was jubilation in the ranks of the opposition and the recrimination has already started in Umno and Perkasa.
In this politically polarised nation, The Malaysian Insider polls who can walk away from this case considered a winner and who will slink away as a loser.
Winners:
1) Anwar Ibrahim
The whole machinery of the government and ruling coalition was trained on this one man for three years. He and his family were vilified daily.
A less of a fighter would have crumbled in the face of these ferocious and nasty attacks (remember the snide comments by Messrs Najib and others at the Umno assembly) but Anwar fought back, giving as good as he received.
Today, he is still standing and possibly re-energised by this ordeal.
2) Karpal Singh and the team of defence lawyers
The veteran DAP lawyer is sometimes more bombast than anything else but he expertly navigated through the second sodomy trial, in the process shredding Saiful’s testimony, casting serious doubts on evidence and on the manner the case was handled and on the competency of the government’s Chemistry Department. Read the rest of this entry »
Second Anwar sodomy case ‘flimsier’, WSJ says
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Judiciary on Saturday, 7 January 2012
by Melissa Chi
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 07, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — In urging President Barack Obama to take a stand in democracy in the Muslim world, The Wall Street Journal today called Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy case “flimsier” than the first.
In its editorial piece, the US daily said Malaysian democracy could benefit from a sign that the US is not indifferent to Anwar’s legal ordeal or to the political system that has allowed it to continue. US interests could benefit as well, it said.
“The current case is even flimsier than the last one. It is based mainly on the word of one accuser who, as it so happened, had met with then-deputy prime minister, now Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak days before the alleged incident.
“Doctors at two hospitals could find no evidence of rape in the aftermath of the alleged incident. Nonetheless, political observers anticipate a guilty verdict,” WSJ said today.
The verdict of Anwar’s trial will be delivered on Monday with a potential sentence involving years of jail time on sodomy charges. Read the rest of this entry »
BN to suffer no matter the verdict in Anwar’s trial, says Straits Times
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Judiciary on Saturday, 7 January 2012
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 07, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) will come under attack whether or not Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is found guilty in Monday’s verdict in the opposition leader’s two-year-long sodomy trial, according to the Singapore Straits Times.
The Singapore daily said in an analysis today that whatever the High Court’s decision, “there is likely to be some blowback for the Najib administration.”
The analysis said if the PKR de facto leader is found guilty and therefore disqualified as a candidate in the elections, “the question then would be whether the judge denies bail pending an appeal, depriving the opposition of its most charismatic campaigner in the poll run-up.” Read the rest of this entry »
What’s fair?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Court, Crime on Saturday, 24 December 2011
— Hussaini Abdul Karim
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 24, 2011
DEC 24 – The headline in The Star’s report by Nurbaiti Hamdan, Friday December 23, 2011 read, “Khir Toyo gets 1 year jail for graft”
Former Selangor Mentri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo was found guilty by the High Court here Friday of knowingly purchasing two pieces of land and a bungalow in Section 7 at a much lower price than its original value from Ditamas Sdn Bhd director Shamsuddin Hayroni in 2007.
He was sentenced to one year in jail from Friday and Justice Mohtarudin Baki ordered his land and bungalow be forfeited.
However, the judge granted him a stay of execution of jail time and forfeiture of the properties pending an appeal after his lawyer M. Athimulan made the request. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib risks Malaysia’s reputation in his treatment of Anwar Ibrahim
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Foreign, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 14 December 2011
By Simon Tisdall | 13 December 2011
The Guardian
The portents do not look good for Malaysia’s opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, whose trial on highly dubious sodomy charges draws to a close this week. If Anwar is found guilty – and the trial judge seems to have made up his mind already – he will not be the only or even the most important victim of an egregious, politically suspect injustice. Malaysia’s democratic reputation will have been critically wounded, and for that outrage, Malaysians will have their prime minister, Najib Razak, to thank.
The plodding Najib’s overriding objective is winning the general election expected next year, possibly within a few months. The son of Malaysia’s second prime minister, the nephew of its third, president of the dominant United Malays National Organisation (Umno), and a former defence minister, Najib was born to power and is accustomed to wielding it. As the charismatic leader of the opposition coalition, Anwar represents the biggest challenge to his continuing ascendancy.
It hardly seems coincidental that the sodomy charges were levelled at Anwar shortly after the opposition inflicted unprecedented defeats on Umno and its allies in the 2008 elections. Anwar’s main campaign plank – combating the official, institutionalised discrimination that favours ethnic Malays over the country’s large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities – threatened the post-colonial order that has kept Umno and its National Front coalition on top since 1957.
Read the rest of this entry »
Minister changes testimony, says Liong Sik’s letter not government guarantee
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Court, PKFZ on Tuesday, 15 November 2011
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 15, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop changed his testimony today, reversing his assertion made a day earlier that Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik’s support letter in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project amounted to a government guarantee.
The former second finance minister testified yesterday that only the Finance Ministry could issue a letter of support with the Cabinet’s approval, and that every time such a letter was issued, the government would have to bear the responsibility if anything went wrong.
Nor Yakcop also said that Dr Ling’s letter of support was actually a “guarantee letter” as it helped secure a top-tier rating for bonds raised for the construction of the scandal-hit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) and was sold for a profit of RM40 million.
But the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department also stressed that the support letter from the transport minister had not received the approval of the Finance Ministry or the Cabinet. Read the rest of this entry »
Appeal against UUCA judgment flies in the face of PM’s political transformation programme
Posted by Kit in Court, Human Rights, Parliament, university on Saturday, 5 November 2011
by Tony Pua MP
National Publicity Secretary DAP
5.11.11
The decision by the Cabinet to allow the appeal of the Court of Appeal judgement that Section 15.(5)(a) of the University and University Colleges Act1971 (UUCA) is unconstitutional flies in the face of the Prime Minister’s “politicaltransformation programme”.
After a series of calls for the Government to not appeal the Court of Appeal judgement that Section 15.(5)(a) of the UUCA made by top politicians from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, hopes were high that the Cabinet will abide by and accept the Court’s decision.
The UMNO Youth Chief, Khairy Jamaluddin, Deputy Higher Education Minister, Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah and MCA Youth Chief, Datuk Wee Ka Siong have made a show of openly supported the Court’s position that the relevant section of the UUCA is unconstitutional and the UUCA should be amended accordingly.
In the “spirit” of the political transformationprogramme launched by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the eve of Malaysia Day where he announced the proposed repeal and amendment of various draconian Acts such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Printing Pressand Publications Act (PPPA), Malaysians were expecting an enlightened decision by the Cabinet to finally remove the shackles of academic freedom at our institutions of higher learning. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should announce full acceptance and no appeal against landmark Court of Appeal judgment striking down Section 15(5)(a) of UUCA as unconstitutional
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Court, Najib Razak, university on Tuesday, 1 November 2011
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should announce full acceptance and no appeal against the landmark Court of Appeal judgment yesterday striking down Section 15(5)(a) of Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) as unconstitutional in violating the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech.
This will be an early test of Najib’s political will, bona fides and commitment to initiate a sea change of democratization and political transformation which he had promised after the most adverse national and international reactions to the high-handed government crackdown of the July 9 Bersih 2.0 peaceful demonstration for free, fair and clean elections system – with the establishment of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Electoral System, and the pledges of repeal of the draconian Internal Security Act as well as repeal or reform of the arsenal of repressive laws in the country including the Universities and University Colleges Act, the Police Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Sedition Act, etc.
Najib should know that all his promises of “democratization and political transformation” have evoked more cynicism, skepticism and disbelief than hope, expectation and belief – and this is because the Najib government has not demonstrated any change of mindset and mentality that the whole apparatus of government has been attuned and oriented to the new challenges of democratization and political transformation.
It is most refreshing and inspiring that the Court of Appeal, through Justice Hishamuddin Yunus and Justice Linton Albert, have spoken out courageously, loud and clear for human rights and the supremacy of the Constitution at this particular juncture.
Read the rest of this entry »
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Court category.
