Acquittal a teaser to another conviction
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Friday, 13 January 2012, 2:34 pm
Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz| January 13, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will want Anwar Ibrahim stopped at all cost.COMMENT
Anwar Ibrahim is not out of the woods yet. Despite being acquitted, Anwar is circumspect about the judiciary.
His acquittal does not prove the judiciary is independent, he said.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Anwar said this present case should not be considered as a landmark case representing the independence of the judiciary.
Now, that is somewhat ominous. Why would Anwar say that?
Anwar knows this: he is let off the hook this time – that’s what the government may want the public to think. So that they can say, this is proof that the judiciary is independent. Read the rest of this entry »
The party’s over
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Mariam Mokhtar, Najib Razak on Friday, 13 January 2012, 12:27 pm
By Mariam Mokhtar | January 13, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was aware of the consequences of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim being jailed. With limited choices, he was forced to choose the unpalatable option of having Anwar acquitted.
In doing so, Najib’s reputation may have been enhanced, his party Umno-BN saved from the brink of annihilation at the polls and, most important of all, the creation of the powerful and feared martyr (Anwar), was neutralised.
For Anwar, acquittal meant he could concentrate on leading the opposition and making sure the government performs. Sodomy II was designed by Umno to be a distraction, for him and the rakyat. Valuable time and resources had been wasted on this sham trial which was designed to wear Anwar and the rakyat down.
Najib must think us fools to believe that Anwar’s acquittal signalled an independent judiciary. What about the many other cases which have been rigged in the past? Teoh Beng Hock, Aminulrasyid Amzah, Ahmad Sarbani, A Kugan.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia Election Around the Corner?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak, UMNO on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 8:38 pm
Asia Sentinel
by Our Correspondent
Thursday, 12 January 2012
With Sodomy II out of the way, looks forward to March polls — maybe
With the Sodomy II trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim now out of the way, it is probably time to start thinking seriously about Malaysia’s 13th general election, which most observers — but not all — believe will be called in March, during school holidays when the classrooms are empty.
Despite euphoria on the part of the three-party opposition coalition, the end of the trial doesn’t mean that Anwar’s troubles are over. One political observer in Kuala Lumpur told Asia Sentinel that the United Malays National Organization, the lead party in the ruling national coalition, will probably do its best to discredit him in other ways. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar’s acquittal has bought for Najib his last but very short-lived chance to prove that he can walk the talk of a reformer and proponent of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 1:42 pm
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s surprise acquittal of Sodomy 2 charge on Monday has bought for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak his last but very short-lived chance to prove that he can walk the talk of a reformer and proponent of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan.
Nobody really believes the self-serving claims by Najib, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin and the Minister for Information, Communications and Culture Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim that Anwar’s acquittal was proof of the independence of the judiciary in Malaysia and would increase the confidence of Malaysians and international community in Najib’s transformation promises.
The 33 months of Najib’s premiership since April 2009 were lost months for reform and transformation as there were only empty rhetorics not backed up with any political will to bring about fundamental changes in all aspects of national life. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar free: And now for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Elections, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 1:32 pm
Dean Johns | Jan 11, 2012
Malaysiakini
Failing an appeal that may yet be made by the prosecution, Anwar Ibrahim is finally free of his latest spurious sodomy charge and the possibility of up to 20 years in jail.
And now, it’s time for the Malaysian people to win their freedom from 50-plus years – or the equivalent of more than two life sentences – of imprisonment and empoisonment by the rotten Umno/BN regime.
Though it could be argued that a great many Malaysians have nobody but themselves to blame for this punishing experience, having effectively held themselves captive by voting for their oppressors so repeatedly and for so long. Read the rest of this entry »
Judiciary still in winter of emasculation
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Constitution, Court, Judiciary on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 1:11 pm
— 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 »
Start law reforms by probing A-G, ex-cop urges PM
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary, Law & Order, Najib Razak on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 1:01 pm
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 12, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim today insisted Datuk Seri Najib Razak prove his impartiality by calling for a royal inquiry on Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail over the Attorney-General’s alleged mishandling of several high profile cases.
According to Mat Zain, the prime minister should make formal representation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the setting up of a tribunal to examine Abdul Gani’s actions.
“It would be the first step forward for PM Najib to restore the country’s criminal justice system which has been tainted for a long time. The people would accept no less than this,” the former Kuala Lumpur CID chief said today in a letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar.
Mat Zain said that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal on Monday did not prove the Najib administration had not interfered in the case or the judiciary’s independence. Read the rest of this entry »
Guan Eng says national debt ‘dangerous’, potentially disastrous
Posted by Kit in Economics, Finance, Lim Guan Eng on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 7:09 pm
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 11, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — Massive borrowing and irresponsible spending by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government will result in Malaysia becoming a fully indebted nation before the end of the decade, Lim Guan Eng said today.
The Penang chief minister said that Putrajaya’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio has increased yearly from 53.1 per cent in 2010 to 53.8 per cent last year and is expected to hit 54.8 per cent this year.
“This is extremely dangerous, and even more disastrous when coupled with statistics from Bank Negara’s Annual Report 2010, which revealed that Malaysia’s household debt at the end of 2010 was RM581 billion, or 76 per cent of GDP, thus giving us the dubious honour of having the second-highest level of household debt in Asia, after South Korea.
“In absolute terms, federal government debt rose by 71 per cent in four years to RM456 billion at (the) end (of) 2011 from RM266 billion at end (of) 2007,” said Lim in a statement today.
The DAP secretary-general said by following the same expansion rate, national debt would be a projected RM780 million by 2016 and RM1.3 trillion by 2020. Read the rest of this entry »
An independent judiciary… really?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 6:52 pm
by Dr Kamal Amzan
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 11, 2012
JAN 11 — We are a funny lot.
Just because of one acquittal, we claim to have an “independent” judiciary. Forget about Eric Chia, forget about the first sodomy trial, forget about what happened to Teoh Beng Hock and let us all just focus on this one and only trial.
From the mainstream media to the online news portals, the response from the government and the opposition leaders to the verdict was akin to striking the lottery.
Today’s headlines in the Star and NST, “Government says it shows freedom of judiciary”, “Slow reassertion of Malaysia’s public institutions”, “Court ruling clears government of baseless accusations.”.
Really? I may be wrong but to claim the judiciary’s independence from one trial verdict seems a bit premature, no? Read the rest of this entry »
Time to Pull ‘CSI: Malaysia’ Off the Air
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Economics, Najib Razak, NEP on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 6:35 pm
By William Pesek
Jan 11, 2012
Bloomberg: The Ticker
If there’s any economy in Asia that needs a change in narrative, it’s Malaysia.
When the resource-rich nation of 28 million people has made headlines globally in recent years, they have been about sodomy charges against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, tension between Muslims and Christians, Beyonce’s bellybutton offending local sensibilities or murder investigations involving high-ranking officials. Malaysia really could have its own CSI crime drama.
Far from finding all this entertaining, many foreign investors eye Malaysia with skepticism. That’s a shame given the huge potential of an economy growing 5.8 percent. When you consider Asian economies that deserved far more attention in 2011 than they received, Malaysia is Exhibit A. It’s high time for Prime Minister Najib Razak to change the story, to shift the focus toward reforms, not tabloid scandals. Announcing the end of affirmative-action policies that hurt Malaysia’s competitiveness might be just the thing. 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, 4:23 pm
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, 11:33 am
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, 11:27 am
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 »
National debt to equal GDP by 2019 if Putrajaya remains spendthrift, say economists
By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 10, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Malaysia’s national debt will hit 100 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2019 should Putrajaya continue to borrow more than it earns, economists say.
Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) distinguished fellow Mohd Ariff Abdul Kareem warned that the federal government revenue was growing too slowly to keep up with its borrowings, which hit 53.1 per cent of GDP in 2010.
He said while the current size of government debt relative to GDP was not troubling, the pace of its growth in recent years was cause for concern.
Debt-to-GDP ratio jumped from 41.4 per cent in 2008 to 53.1 per cent in 2010 while government debt grew 14.6 per cent in 2008 and 18.3 per cent in 2009, far outpacing the country’s GDP growth, Ariff noted.
“If nothing is done to reverse the current trends in government expenditures and revenues, extrapolation suggests that Malaysia’s national debt will explode to 100 per cent of GDP by 2019.
“Should the debt growth gather speed, this can happen sooner,” he told The Malaysian Insider via e-mail. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar’s acquittal a victory for justice but not yet a triumph for the justice system
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Parliament on Tuesday, 10 January 2012, 3:52 pm
I had in my first response to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal from Sodomy II charges yesterday said that it was a victory for justice.
There was immediate response from detractors accusing me of double standards, alleging that I would regard the justice system as fair and just when Anwar is freed but the opposite if Anwar is imprisoned.
These detractors have got me wrong. Anwar’s acquittal was a victory for justice but not yet a triumph for the justice system.
Just as a swallow does not make a summer, the justice system in Malaysia has a very long way to go despite the Anwar Sodomy II acquittal to restore national and international confidence in its in efficiency, independence and integrity.
In acquitting Anwar, Judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah cited the possibility that the DNA samples were compromised and the lack of corroborative evidence. On these grounds alone, Anwar should never had been charged in this first place. Furthermore, Anwar’s defence should not have been called at the end of the prosecution case. 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, 2:35 pm
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, 2:32 pm
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 »
Anwar’s acquittal marks a new chapter
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 10 January 2012, 2:29 pm
By Dr Lim Teck Ghee | 10 January 2012
Anwar Ibrahim, a key page in the country’s political history has been turned.
Immediate winners are of course Anwar, his family, his team of lawyers, and the opposition. For Anwar, it was not only exoneration of the sexual smear charges brought against him; it was also a victory for his political fortunes and that of Pakatan Rakyat, now reenergized, ahead of the coming elections.
As the clock winds down – much more slowly now as a result of this verdict – towards the end of the current term of the Barisan government, Anwar has quite rightly refrained from crowing over this unexpected verdict.
In his first comments to the press following the court decision, Anwar asked his supporters to concentrate on the larger reform agenda, and on fighting against corruption and ensuring the freedom of the media.
Read the rest of this entry »
A grave injustice avoided
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 10 January 2012, 12:06 pm
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, 12:04 pm
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 »
