Malaysia's sex trial of Anwar raises political stakes

commentary: This trial has gone to the way it is all done by DSAI himself, no others... He is the one pushing it to be a political trial and now he is using it as the very reason to get him out of it... He made a mockery from the AG to the Judge, well, I understand the part that he doesn't see eye to eye with the Attorney General, the guy actually prosecuted in the the sodomy, season one.... but bringing  in international media and using foreign pressure at our judicial system to release the case, that is not acceptable, he wants to be above law... we however the other ordinary Malaysian wants the truth and should prevail... aizley

MALAYSIA TODAY -

Thursday, 18 February 2010 Super Admin

 

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's opposition leader, is on trial for sodomy for a second time. The BBC's Vaudine England investigates the political ramifications.

A sodomy trial cuts through Mr Anwar's image as a good Muslim, say government critics

Two years ago, few Malaysians would have predicted the current state of their country's politics.

In the March 2008 elections, the opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim demolished the ruling coalition's two-thirds majority.

The coalition still won, but it emerged bruised by its worst election result in 50 years.

"It's the first time in Malaysian history that a possibility of change is something that is reachable, not an impossible dream," said Lim Kit Siang, head of the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

The result only exacerbated the hatred that was already felt by the Malay political establishment towards Anwar Ibrahim - a man who was once one of its leading figures.

Divisive move

Mr Anwar is now the head of the increasingly powerful opposition, and many analysts say that his current trial for sodomy - the second time he has been accused of this offence - may have more to do with his politics than his personal life.

The ruling coalition - the Barisan Nasional (National Front) - comprises the dominant United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

There is no doubt about Anwar's unique contribution in bringing the three parties together Lim Kit Siang, DAP leader

The opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition comprises Mr Anwar's Parti Keadilan or Justice Party, the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), the largely Chinese DAP and others.
In December 2009, Pakatan Rakyat held a national conference which laid out the beginnings of a serious challenge to the establishment - to rule Malaysia from the basis of a multi-ethnic and multi-faith platform.
The calculations of electoral politics are invoked by many for the recent rash of attacks on houses of worship in a row over the use of the word Allah.
Some have blamed the government for the provocations, in a plot to draw PAS out of opposition into a pro-Muslim alliance against Mr Anwar.
Others have pointed the finger of blame squarely at Mr Anwar.

"I see this is the effort by certain quarters of the society associated to a political party… to test the rigidity or the flexibility of our tolerance that has been in our system since the first day of our independence or even before that," said Umno Supreme Council member Idris Haron.

"What do I mean? Anwar Ibrahim," he added.

He then recounted an incident from decades ago in which Mr Anwar had "put him down in public", displaying a level of lasting vitriol against the opposition leader which is shared by many in Umno.

'Too rotten'

Government critics believe it is no accident that the charge against Mr Anwar is sodomy - this is not white collar crime, a funding scandal or a conflict of interest, it is something which cuts to the quick of this Malay politician's identity as a good Muslim.

Allah row reflects race divide Profile: Anwar Ibrahim

Several Umno leaders have labelled Mr Anwar a "traitor" to the Malay race, claiming his advocacy of equal rights to all endangers the Malays.
"He has deviated from the struggle for the Malays. We speak the truth and are ready to face any legal action from him," a former Umno minister Shahrir Samad said.
Among the opposition, the trial posses an immediate practical problem - how do you take over government if your leader is in jail?
"There is no doubt about Anwar's unique contribution in bringing the three parties together," says Mr Lim, of the opposition alliance.

"But I think should anything untoward happen - which we hope would not take place, although we have to be realistic about it - I believe the Pakatan Rakyat will have become more mature and able to undergo such a test," he says.

Within Umno, some members suggest that restoring their party's electoral might requires more than simply locking up Mr Anwar.

These voices see the old Umno as out of tune with a younger, more globalised and questioning constituency, and as too willing to pander to a more extremist religious right wing within the party.

Umno is too rotten to be saved, according to Zaid Ibrahim, a former law minister for Umno and now an opposition strategist.

"Umno's preoccupation (in the 1960s) was to try to uplift the spirit of the Malay," he says.

"But along the way it has become an almost fascist type of machinery, spreading lies about the country that Malays are going to be overwhelmed.
"It's very fascist. And I think after 20-30 years, they begin to believe it themselves, they can't control it."
Most analysts credit Prime Minister Najib Razak as being a well-meaning promoter of centrist government - "as liberal as any other wealthy Malay", as Zaid Ibrahim puts it.
Mr Najib has already watered down the country's contentious pro-Malay affirmative action policies, and embarked on a new target-setting approach for his cumbersome bureaucracy, perhaps in the hope that economic success will quell political distress.
Another former Umno luminary who has also split from the party, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, described the 2008 election as a national watershed which marked the end of Umno's invincibility.

"The people want more than ethno-religious politics," but Umno seems to be digging a hole for itself, he said in a recent speech.

Umno is becoming "more extreme and out of touch with ordinary voters of every race and religion, whose major concerns are not racial or religious identity, but matters such as corruption, security, the economy and education," he believes.

* This article is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The blog owner does not endorse the view unless specified. To share the above article, please click the followings:

 

 

Met Anwar Ibrahim at the Royal Lake Club

Dear readers and friends,

 Since i'm back to KL for CNY holidays, i took the opportunity to go and get my new car sticker at the club today near the parliament, later decided to drop by the watering hole, meet a few regulars there and decided to have lunch at the Batik Bar, While we were there, Anwar Ibrahim and his defense team came in.  They had sat in one corner, I guess they came in from the Court which is not far from the club and maybe also because as the Opposition Leader, Anwar have an official office at the Parliament.  Later the Lion of Jelutong came in rolling. The whole team is complete.  Had the opportunity to say hi to AI, asked him about his health...but that does mean that i think he is less guilty of the crime he committed but i guess that is my personal opinion after weighing all the official and the unofficial info that i came across.  It is just sad to see a man that could have easily been the Prime Minister of the country now is actually gone down to this... owh well...

aizley

* This article is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The blog owner does not endorse the view unless specified. To share the above article, please click the followings:

 

 

Eksklusif: Pertemuan Penuh Drama KJ, Pemuda Dengan Perdana Menteri

|   

Oleh Lebah Kota

Semalam Khairy Jamaluddin (KJ) melangkah kembali ke tingkat 4, Jabatan Perdana Menteri (JPM), iaitu tingkat yang sangat sinonim dengan dirinya di mana ia suatu masa dahulu meletakkan dirinya sebagai manusia yang paling berkuasa di negara ini.

Ia juga tingkat di mana KJ merancang pelbagai perkara yang bersifat merampas harta milik rakyat untuk diisi ke koceknya sendiri.

Namun, semalam, tingkat 4 bukan milik KJ atau bapa mertuanya.

KJ melangkah selaku Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO dengan membawa bersama hampir 40 exco dan ahli Pemuda untuk melakukan kunjungan hormat ke atas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Hampir setahun terpilih baru buat kunjungan hormat. Entahlah apa nak kata.

Pertemuan itu berlangsung dari jam 5.15 petang hingga 7 malam di JPM di Putrajaya.

Banyak pihak mendakwa pertemuan itu diatur untuk KJ memberikan penerangan dan gambaran bahawa tidak ada perpecahan dalam Pemuda.

KJ telah menafikan itu adalah tujuan pertemuan tersebut melalui media massa semalam.

Namun, apa yang pasti, ia satu pertemuan yang penuh drama, ironis dan memperlihatkan sifat bodoh sombong serta muka tak tahu malu KJ belum lagi berakhir.

Ironis seperti yang diterangkan di atas iaitu KJ melangkah ke tingkat 4 yang selama ini memang dikaitkan dengan diri dan rakan-rakannya ketika era Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Bagaimanapun, pertemuan yang sepatutnya bersifat kunjungan hormat cuba dimanipulasi KJ untuk memberikan tekanan kepada PM.

KJ telah berpakat dengan exco-exco machainya agar bertanya kepada PM supaya memberikan jawatan Menteri kepada dirinya!

Justeru, semasa pertemuan, adalah exco yang bertanya soalan itu.

Seperti biasa KJ ingat dia seorang sahaja yang bijak kat dunia ni. Namun, jawapan Datuk Seri Najib memang membuat KJ dan budak-budaknya terpaku.

Najib dengan nada yang lembut tetapi penuh mendalam dan tajam meminta agar Pemuda UMNO bersatu dahulu dan soal jawatan boleh diperbincangkan selepas Pemuda memperlihatkan ia tidak lagi berpecah-belah.

Hendak kata apa, memang Pemuda tidak bersatu. Nyata Najib memberikan sindiran bermakna kepada KJ dalam isu itu.

Namun, semuanya tidak berakhir setakat itu sahaja.

Bukankah Lebah Kota menyebut tadi bagaimana tingkat 4 JPM merupakan tingkat yang menjadikan KJ manusia paling berkuasa di Malaysia satu masa dahulu, semalam, dalam pertemuan itu, KJ masih 'terbawa-bawa' sikap yang sama.

Percaya atau tidak, ada sebahagian Exco Pemuda UMNO yang diberikan amaran oleh KJ sebelum pertemuan agar tidak bertanya sebarang soalan kepada Perdana Menteri.

Yop Putrajaya yang dahulu mendesak KJ meletak jawatan adalah di antara yang diberikan amaran.

Tidak cukup dengan itu, KJ mengawal siapa yang boleh bercakap dan bertanya soalan ketika pertemuan berlangsung.

Umpamanya, jika ada tiga microphone yang menyala lampu mereka serentak akibat ditekan butang bercakap oleh para exco Pemuda, KJ yang memberitahu siapa yang boleh terus bertanya.

Akhirnya budak-budak dan balacinya sahajalah yang bertanya kepada PM dalam kunjungan hormat itu semalam.

Yang mana bukan pro KJ tidak diberikan laluan langsung.

Dasar muka tidak tahu malu, apakah KJ ingat tingkat 4 itu masih milik bapa mertuanya dengan mengatur siapa yang boleh bercakap dan tidak boleh bercakap?

KJ sebenarnya bimbang jika ada exco Pemuda yang melontarkan cadangan supaya dirinya berundur selaku Ketua Pemuda UMNO di hadapan Presiden Parti.

Itulah sebab KJ bersifat kuku besi menghalang siapa yang boleh bercakap dan siapa yang tidak.

Apa pun, itu sebenarnya sesuatu yang memalukan.

Sudahlah berpakat denga exco yang pro dengan dirinya agar mengemis jawatan Menteri daripada PM, lepas itu ada unsur tahan menahan siapa yang boleh bertanya dan tidak boleh bertanya soalan kepada PM.

Itu bukan kunjungan hormat, itu kunjungan untuk kepentingan diri sendiri namanya. Buat malulah KJ ni!

Mungkin KJ meroyan tingkat 4 sekejap kot semalam.

* This article is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The blog owner does not endorse the view unless specified. To share the above article, please click the followings: