On how to avoid an acquital by default in Anwar's favor ..

Sakmongkol explains in Dealing with Anwar why he's not tempted by Anwar Ibrahim's invitation to treat and why we - bloggers and the media - should not, either.

Why should we kick a dead horse? Anwar is doomed. His Malay power base is slowly undermined. Look at his supporters out there at the courthouse. Hardly representing the Malay heartland. His flag bearer is Tian Chua.

Anwar remains a political asset if he remains free. To the west, Anwar is the emblem of democracy. The ignorant west insults us by treating Anwar as the representative of democracy. Can we treat Louis Farakhan or Father Jeremiah Wright as the definitive emblem of American democracy?

It insists that Malaysia must keep Anwar Ibrahim free if she is to qualify to be in the good books of the west. This unsolicited advice is similar to the insistence that we must bomb Iraq into democracy or that we must napalm Afghanistan to force it into democracy.

The blogger does have a point. Already, Anwar is using Utusan to try and win a big first round in the Sodomy 2 trial, which is to get the Judge disqualified.

General

February 08, 2010 15:07 PM

Anwar's Sodomy Case Postponed To Hear Application To Recuse Judge

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial was postponed to tomorrow to hear the opposition leader's application for High Court judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah to recuse himself. Anwar's counsel, Karpal Singh, made the application based on the judge's decision relating to two articles published by Utusan Malaysian which he said "brings to surface an element of real danger of bias on the part of the learned trial judge". Justice Mohamad Zabidin asked counsel when the defence wanted the court to hear the application, this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden said the trial should proceed Monday pending the prosecution's filing of the affidavit-in-reply. The court then fixed tomorrow to hear the application to enable the prosecution to file the affidavit-in-reply. Karpal Singh, submitting that the court must hear the application before proceeding with the trial, said the defence had no intention of delaying the trial and was prepared to cross-examine the prosecution's first witness, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. He said Anwar had a right to a fair trial under Article 5 (1) of the Federal Constitution. On Monday the court was to hear Mohd Saiful's testimony under cross-examination by the defence. Anwar, 63, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor and member of parliament for Permatang Pauh, is alleged to have sodomised Mohd Saiful, 25, his former aide, at Unit 11-5-1 Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008. The charge under section 377B of the Penal Code carries a maximum 20 years jail and whipping on conviction. The high-profile trial, which had drawn coverage from both the local and foreign media, started last Wednesday, 18 months after Anwar was first charged on Aug 7, 2008. -- BERNAMA

* This article is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The blog owner does not endorse the view unless specified.