MALAYSIANS
GONG XI FA CAI
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
ABU ceramah in Klang on 21/1/2012. Be there!
The ABU REVOLUTION IS A PRO-RAKYAT’S INITIATIVE.
See you all there on Saturday.21 Jan 2012
Spread the word to family and friends.
ABU is coming to Klang.
THE ABU REVOLUTION is fully aware that with the recognition of pro-rakyat parties, we can together crush UMNO.
If you believe this to be true, endorse this revolution.
See you all there on Saturday.21 Jan 2012
Spread the word to family and friends.
ABU is coming to Klang.
THE ABU REVOLUTION is fully aware that with the recognition of pro-rakyat parties, we can together crush UMNO.
If you believe this to be true, endorse this revolution.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Love your country Vote wisely
Malaysians must start to LOVE the right thing and in the right way. My earlier posting Love is a dangerous game to play with! highlights generally about love between two sexes and how it can be good or it can hurt as well.
Love - A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person.
Patriotic - Feeling, expressing, or inspired by love for one's country.
Over the decades of propaganda by the ruling regime, the people are inclined to think that only by loving the ruling government will they be recognised as patriotic that love the country. A misconception of loving the government first and nation second.
The second misconception by the regime after having ruled for over five decades begins to think and act like the nation wealth belongs only to them and the rakyat are their servants to toil with.
The third misconception is the ruling regime demand that the rakyat must be appreciative and grateful of what the government is doing.
These misconceptions must be promptly eradicated from the rakyat's mind or else the future of this nation will be in ruin.
There can be no love for a ruling government but only categorized as, good, poor or bad governance. The rakyat need not be appreciative or be grateful to the government for what they are doing, for better or worst, as they are elected and paid for to do their jobs of running the nation.
This nation can and will only be bankrupted or destroyed by those holding the power and not the rakyat. Patriotism cannot be questioned by the ruling government for covering up their wrong doings when rakyat woke up and protested against them.
GE 13 is just round the corner and voters must start grading the performances of umno/bn rule for the past five decades. Leave love and patriotism aside as they cannot be used to gauge the performances of the government. You can love and like PM Najib but put that as personal. The scrutiny must be deep rooted into the overall long term results that will benefit the country and rakyat and not short term or ad hoc give away, once every five years.
This coming GE, voters must be very attentive of who they are going to vote in to form the next government. They must ask a lot of questions and find the answers themselves, for example, why giving out a one time off RM500 cash to those earning 3K and below now. Why not look into a long term solution for those earning 3k and less, ensuring high purchasing power from the 3k. Can they own a home, a kanchil & regular meals for a family of four with the 3k?
They said, what goes up must come down but I do not see the truth in the prices of consumer goods nor the corruption index and what is the ruling government going to do about it?
If you are patriotic and love your country, you must make the right choice by voting in a credible, competence and clean government with integrity that treated all Malaysians as equal and with respect. Failing to do so will see the nation that you love and being patriotic about in ruin.
GE 13 : LOVE YOUR COUNTRY VOTE WISELY
Love - A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person.
Patriotic - Feeling, expressing, or inspired by love for one's country.
Over the decades of propaganda by the ruling regime, the people are inclined to think that only by loving the ruling government will they be recognised as patriotic that love the country. A misconception of loving the government first and nation second.
The second misconception by the regime after having ruled for over five decades begins to think and act like the nation wealth belongs only to them and the rakyat are their servants to toil with.
The third misconception is the ruling regime demand that the rakyat must be appreciative and grateful of what the government is doing.
These misconceptions must be promptly eradicated from the rakyat's mind or else the future of this nation will be in ruin.
There can be no love for a ruling government but only categorized as, good, poor or bad governance. The rakyat need not be appreciative or be grateful to the government for what they are doing, for better or worst, as they are elected and paid for to do their jobs of running the nation.
This nation can and will only be bankrupted or destroyed by those holding the power and not the rakyat. Patriotism cannot be questioned by the ruling government for covering up their wrong doings when rakyat woke up and protested against them.
GE 13 is just round the corner and voters must start grading the performances of umno/bn rule for the past five decades. Leave love and patriotism aside as they cannot be used to gauge the performances of the government. You can love and like PM Najib but put that as personal. The scrutiny must be deep rooted into the overall long term results that will benefit the country and rakyat and not short term or ad hoc give away, once every five years.
This coming GE, voters must be very attentive of who they are going to vote in to form the next government. They must ask a lot of questions and find the answers themselves, for example, why giving out a one time off RM500 cash to those earning 3K and below now. Why not look into a long term solution for those earning 3k and less, ensuring high purchasing power from the 3k. Can they own a home, a kanchil & regular meals for a family of four with the 3k?
They said, what goes up must come down but I do not see the truth in the prices of consumer goods nor the corruption index and what is the ruling government going to do about it?
If you are patriotic and love your country, you must make the right choice by voting in a credible, competence and clean government with integrity that treated all Malaysians as equal and with respect. Failing to do so will see the nation that you love and being patriotic about in ruin.
GE 13 : LOVE YOUR COUNTRY VOTE WISELY
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Hold The Accolades!
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.
As for Anwar Ibrahim, he and his family are rightfully grateful for the verdict, but hold on to your apology. Forgiveness, yes, as he said recently; that is always praiseworthy. He rightly cautioned that one court decision does not a judicial spring make. Besides, there is still the monumental task ahead to clear up the mess, and not just in the system of justice. Najib’s much-ballyhooed “transformation” is a charade concocted by his exorbitantly-paid consultants.
Doing Away With Anwar
The decision to do away with Anwar was made a long time ago. In opting for this particular route, they had hoped that whatever the outcome Anwar would be irreparably damaged by the smear. How they misjudged! The public remains convinced that the charge was politically motivated, and crassly at that, right from the very beginning.
The tragedy here, apart from the agony and humiliation Anwar and his family had endured, is that a delayed-adolescent college flunkey desperate for his 15 minutes of fame was being exploited. They used the poor boy as a battering rod, pardon my metaphor, to do in Anwar.
There is only one possible redeeming value to Judge Zabidin continuing this trial in its squalid entirety, and that is to expose the pathetic lack of professionalism of not just the prosecuting team but also the other professionals involved. This included the police officers and crime investigators to the forensic scientists tasked with the crucial DNA analysis and the senior specialists who examined Anwar’s accuser.
Consider those medical specialists. They failed in their duty to inform and educate the court; they owed the court their individual professional judgment, not a committee report. Unlike paid experts, those government doctors were not beholden to the accuser or accused, only to uphold the truth. If they had doubts they should so inform the court. Likewise those chemists; before they performed the DNA analyses they should be satisfied of the integrity of the specimens. If they were forced to perform tests on specimens of questionable integrity, they clearly should have informed the court of their doubts.
Those specialists were based at the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur, an apex institution in the government’s healthcare system; thus presumably they must be the best. They should also have known that this was a very high-profile case and that their performance would come under global scrutiny. It should have been an opportunity for them to showcase their talent and professionalism. Instead the judge singled out the inadequacy of the physical evidence, as reflected in their reports and testimonies, as the reason for acquittal.
The only physician who had acquitted himself well was the foreign doctor who first examined the accuser. That doctor had the conviction to document clearly his findings and impressions without first having to “discuss” it with his superiors. That he had to flee the country afterwards reveals much about our system of justice.
If in his written judgment Judge Zabidin were to comment on the quality of the prosecution’s expert witnesses and address the performance of the prosecution, in particular the alleged gross breach of professional conduct where one member was romantically linked with the accuser, then I will not only take back my criticism but would praise the learned judge profusely. Then there was considerable wisdom in his letting the trial go through its entire course – to serve as a much-needed “teaching moment” for the nation.
At its most benign the alleged prosecutorial misconduct could simply be the case of a young man and woman with raging hormones. At its most sinister, it is “witness coaching” brought to a whole new low level. When that wild allegation first surfaced, the prosecution dismissed it, only to admit later that the alleged woman was only a “junior” and thus an inconsequential member of the team. Never mind that she was a lawyer, a fellow professional.
The prosecution was led by the government’s top lawyer, the Solicitor-General. He is a career civil servant, not a political appointee and thus, at least theoretically, immune to political pressure. Nonetheless he should have known that in this day and age, the charge of sodomy is patently laughable. Major jurisdictions including the US and Canadian Supreme Courts have decriminalized the act except where it is non-consensual. Heck, even the Chinese Supreme Court has ruled similarly!
Even in Malaysia that statute has rarely been invoked. The only time it was used was in 1998, and the victim was again Anwar. That conviction was subsequently overturned on appeal, but not before he was incarcerated for six long years. If the Solicitor-General had invoked sexual harassment charges instead, that at least would have highlighted an all-too-common problem.
Even if the physical evidence had been compelling, recognizing that this was a high-profile case with all the political implications, and aware of the poor reputation of the judiciary in the eyes of the public, it would have been prudent to appoint an independent prosecutor. That would remove any suspicion of political influence. That the Solicitor-General did not again reflected the caliber of his judgment. The irony is that this case was decided soon after he submitted his early optional retirement!
The verdict not withstanding, many unanswered questions remain. Najib has yet to explain why he met this confused young man just days before he filed the complaint against Anwar. If, as Najib intimated, that they were discussing a scholarship, I can suggest a few other much more talented Malaysians now at top universities who are more deserving of such attention.
Najib and the other UMNO leaders are forever proclaiming that Malaysia is an Islamic state. In this case both the accuser and the accused are Muslims. Why not invoke the shari’a? They did not, for the obvious reason that had it been invoked, both accused and accuser would have to be charged as there was no element of force.
Far from being a turning point, this trial illustrated and highlighted how dysfunctional and ill-equipped our institutions and personnel are in the administration of justice. I predict two things: One, the judge’s written judgment would be long in coming; and two, he will not be bound for promotion any time soon.
As I suggested earlier, hold the accolades.
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.
As for Anwar Ibrahim, he and his family are rightfully grateful for the verdict, but hold on to your apology. Forgiveness, yes, as he said recently; that is always praiseworthy. He rightly cautioned that one court decision does not a judicial spring make. Besides, there is still the monumental task ahead to clear up the mess, and not just in the system of justice. Najib’s much-ballyhooed “transformation” is a charade concocted by his exorbitantly-paid consultants.
Doing Away With Anwar
The decision to do away with Anwar was made a long time ago. In opting for this particular route, they had hoped that whatever the outcome Anwar would be irreparably damaged by the smear. How they misjudged! The public remains convinced that the charge was politically motivated, and crassly at that, right from the very beginning.
The tragedy here, apart from the agony and humiliation Anwar and his family had endured, is that a delayed-adolescent college flunkey desperate for his 15 minutes of fame was being exploited. They used the poor boy as a battering rod, pardon my metaphor, to do in Anwar.
There is only one possible redeeming value to Judge Zabidin continuing this trial in its squalid entirety, and that is to expose the pathetic lack of professionalism of not just the prosecuting team but also the other professionals involved. This included the police officers and crime investigators to the forensic scientists tasked with the crucial DNA analysis and the senior specialists who examined Anwar’s accuser.
Consider those medical specialists. They failed in their duty to inform and educate the court; they owed the court their individual professional judgment, not a committee report. Unlike paid experts, those government doctors were not beholden to the accuser or accused, only to uphold the truth. If they had doubts they should so inform the court. Likewise those chemists; before they performed the DNA analyses they should be satisfied of the integrity of the specimens. If they were forced to perform tests on specimens of questionable integrity, they clearly should have informed the court of their doubts.
Those specialists were based at the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur, an apex institution in the government’s healthcare system; thus presumably they must be the best. They should also have known that this was a very high-profile case and that their performance would come under global scrutiny. It should have been an opportunity for them to showcase their talent and professionalism. Instead the judge singled out the inadequacy of the physical evidence, as reflected in their reports and testimonies, as the reason for acquittal.
The only physician who had acquitted himself well was the foreign doctor who first examined the accuser. That doctor had the conviction to document clearly his findings and impressions without first having to “discuss” it with his superiors. That he had to flee the country afterwards reveals much about our system of justice.
If in his written judgment Judge Zabidin were to comment on the quality of the prosecution’s expert witnesses and address the performance of the prosecution, in particular the alleged gross breach of professional conduct where one member was romantically linked with the accuser, then I will not only take back my criticism but would praise the learned judge profusely. Then there was considerable wisdom in his letting the trial go through its entire course – to serve as a much-needed “teaching moment” for the nation.
At its most benign the alleged prosecutorial misconduct could simply be the case of a young man and woman with raging hormones. At its most sinister, it is “witness coaching” brought to a whole new low level. When that wild allegation first surfaced, the prosecution dismissed it, only to admit later that the alleged woman was only a “junior” and thus an inconsequential member of the team. Never mind that she was a lawyer, a fellow professional.
The prosecution was led by the government’s top lawyer, the Solicitor-General. He is a career civil servant, not a political appointee and thus, at least theoretically, immune to political pressure. Nonetheless he should have known that in this day and age, the charge of sodomy is patently laughable. Major jurisdictions including the US and Canadian Supreme Courts have decriminalized the act except where it is non-consensual. Heck, even the Chinese Supreme Court has ruled similarly!
Even in Malaysia that statute has rarely been invoked. The only time it was used was in 1998, and the victim was again Anwar. That conviction was subsequently overturned on appeal, but not before he was incarcerated for six long years. If the Solicitor-General had invoked sexual harassment charges instead, that at least would have highlighted an all-too-common problem.
Even if the physical evidence had been compelling, recognizing that this was a high-profile case with all the political implications, and aware of the poor reputation of the judiciary in the eyes of the public, it would have been prudent to appoint an independent prosecutor. That would remove any suspicion of political influence. That the Solicitor-General did not again reflected the caliber of his judgment. The irony is that this case was decided soon after he submitted his early optional retirement!
The verdict not withstanding, many unanswered questions remain. Najib has yet to explain why he met this confused young man just days before he filed the complaint against Anwar. If, as Najib intimated, that they were discussing a scholarship, I can suggest a few other much more talented Malaysians now at top universities who are more deserving of such attention.
Najib and the other UMNO leaders are forever proclaiming that Malaysia is an Islamic state. In this case both the accuser and the accused are Muslims. Why not invoke the shari’a? They did not, for the obvious reason that had it been invoked, both accused and accuser would have to be charged as there was no element of force.
Far from being a turning point, this trial illustrated and highlighted how dysfunctional and ill-equipped our institutions and personnel are in the administration of justice. I predict two things: One, the judge’s written judgment would be long in coming; and two, he will not be bound for promotion any time soon.
As I suggested earlier, hold the accolades.
Anwar acquittal alters Malaysian political landscape
By Kim Quek | TMI
The judge walked into the court room, read the judgment in one minute, and disappeared into his chamber.
By the time the flabbergasted people in the court room recovered from their shock and realised what it all meant, they jumped in uncontrollable jubilation with shouts of joy, burst of tears, hugging, back-slapping, utterances of congratulations and thanks.
Within minutes, the same ecstatic outburst also came over the thousands of supporters gathered outside the court building. In fact, the sense of joy and emotional relief has quickly reverberated right across the nation, transcending race and religion.
Such was the high drama that greeted the totally unexpected acquittal of Anwar Ibrahim from the sodomy charge by Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on January 9.
And such was the impact of this sensational Anwar story that it travels instantly around the globe with international TV channels like Al-Jazeera and BBC stopping their programmes to break the news, which no doubt has also brought relief and satisfaction to overseas pro-democracy and human rights bodies and well-wishers who had been anxiously awaiting the outcome of this sodomy trial.
No doubt the heightened sensation derived partly from the shock element of the verdict as no one had expected an acquittal. This is due to the fact that the trial had been so outrageously unjust and vindictive right from the start that everyone recognised it as political persecution and had anticipated a conviction and possibly instant jail on D-day, January 9. And so, imagine the joy of learning the opposite in such a dramatic fashion at the end of this long drawn ordeal.
It is common human experience that it is only when one is on the verge of losing a dear person that he discovers how much he loves that person.
And so it is with Anwar Ibrahim. The nationwide anxieties (expecting the worst scenario) that were steadily building up in the run up to judgment day, and the irrepressible smiling faces that appeared everywhere upon learning Anwar’s acquittal is the best testimony of the hitherto not so obvious truth that the nation has in fact all along treasured his leadership.
Such spontaneous response is also indication that Anwar’s indefatigable struggle to bring an end to the long antiquated and corrupt autocracy in this country, against unparalleled cruelty inflicted on him, has not gone unnoticed and unappreciated by the people, despite the regime’s high-handed media black-out on him all this time.
This wholly unanticipated finale to the three-and-a-half-year-long Anwar Sodomy II saga has far- reaching ramifications, and in fact transformed the political landscape and altered the balance of power between the challenger and the incumbent.
Anwar’s vindication of his innocence and his return to full political life from the precipice of a potentially lengthy prison term has brought the following consequences:
• It has spared Pakatan Rakyat the potential crisis of a leadership vacuum.
• On a personal level, it has revitalised Anwar and strengthened his position as the undisputed leader of the opposition group.
• It has enhanced his public image as prime minister-in-waiting who will lead Pakatan Rakyat to rid the country from the current quagmire of racial and religious dissension and economic malaise perpetrated by Barisan Nasional (BN).
• Having averted near catastrophe, Anwar’s new lease of political life will re-energise the Pakatan alliance and bring the component parties closer together as a compact fighting force.
• It has caused BN a disastrous set-back, for not only bringing a political plot that it has laboured for three-and-a-half years for naught, but also for damaging BN’s public image and credibility.
• It has demoralised BN and increased the risk of its fringe component parties deserting the mother ship.
• For whatever reason that precipitated this unexpected verdict — whether the last stage reversal was decided by the judge himself or by the political masters to avoid greater net loss of electoral support — such a disastrous finale has apparently deepened the conflict between the hardliners and reform-inclined faction within Umno.
The last point is important as it has the potential to cause an implosion in Umno — a thoroughly corrupted political party, void of political idealism, and characterized by its world famous brand of “money politics” and perennial in-fighting.
That there has been a last moment reversal is suggested by the following occurrences:
First, more than a week before D-day (January 9), blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK), long time Anwar loyalist, launched a vicious attack on Anwar, branding him a sodomite who was guilty as charged.
These attacks, which were widely publicised in Umno-control newspapers and TV channels, were recognised as a signal that Umno was still on-course to convict Anwar, and the RPK’s attack was a tactical move to pre-empt the potential backlash of an Anwar conviction.
Second, a few days before January 9, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein hinted a softening of stance against the proposed “free Anwar” mass rally on January 9, when he suggested to Anwar’s party PKR to seek permission for the rally from the police, which had up to that point vowed to crack down harshly on it.
And to the surprise of everyone, the police promptly gave their consent upon its first meeting with PKR, despite having vehemently opposed it previously. In hindsight, that could be the point in time when the decision to convict Anwar was reversed, as it makes sense not to clash with Anwar’s supporters when Anwar was already destined to be acquitted.
Third, it is odd that the judge should give only a one-minute verdict at the final judgment, while it took him one hour and fifty minutes to deliver his lengthy judgment at the interim stage to establish the prima facie case.
A palpable explanation is that the one-minute verdict was a last moment decision. Alternatively, it could be the honest but sketchy script of a judge who finally could not bring himself to pass a judgment that would condemn him and his descendents to eternal infamy.
That Umno’s hardline faction has been rattled by the Anwar acquittal is seen in the uncharacteristically belated response of faction leaders deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
As expected, both hypocritically claimed that the Anwar verdict was proof that the Executive had never interfered with the judiciary. Such manifestly untrue claims only re-confirm that these hardliners are still living in the past, grossly out of tune with the tempo of the Internet age.
These political dinosaurs belong to history. They don’t deserve to rule Malaysia.
Kim Quek is the author of the book, “The March to Putrajaya”.
The judge walked into the court room, read the judgment in one minute, and disappeared into his chamber.
By the time the flabbergasted people in the court room recovered from their shock and realised what it all meant, they jumped in uncontrollable jubilation with shouts of joy, burst of tears, hugging, back-slapping, utterances of congratulations and thanks.
Within minutes, the same ecstatic outburst also came over the thousands of supporters gathered outside the court building. In fact, the sense of joy and emotional relief has quickly reverberated right across the nation, transcending race and religion.
Such was the high drama that greeted the totally unexpected acquittal of Anwar Ibrahim from the sodomy charge by Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on January 9.
And such was the impact of this sensational Anwar story that it travels instantly around the globe with international TV channels like Al-Jazeera and BBC stopping their programmes to break the news, which no doubt has also brought relief and satisfaction to overseas pro-democracy and human rights bodies and well-wishers who had been anxiously awaiting the outcome of this sodomy trial.
No doubt the heightened sensation derived partly from the shock element of the verdict as no one had expected an acquittal. This is due to the fact that the trial had been so outrageously unjust and vindictive right from the start that everyone recognised it as political persecution and had anticipated a conviction and possibly instant jail on D-day, January 9. And so, imagine the joy of learning the opposite in such a dramatic fashion at the end of this long drawn ordeal.
It is common human experience that it is only when one is on the verge of losing a dear person that he discovers how much he loves that person.
And so it is with Anwar Ibrahim. The nationwide anxieties (expecting the worst scenario) that were steadily building up in the run up to judgment day, and the irrepressible smiling faces that appeared everywhere upon learning Anwar’s acquittal is the best testimony of the hitherto not so obvious truth that the nation has in fact all along treasured his leadership.
Such spontaneous response is also indication that Anwar’s indefatigable struggle to bring an end to the long antiquated and corrupt autocracy in this country, against unparalleled cruelty inflicted on him, has not gone unnoticed and unappreciated by the people, despite the regime’s high-handed media black-out on him all this time.
This wholly unanticipated finale to the three-and-a-half-year-long Anwar Sodomy II saga has far- reaching ramifications, and in fact transformed the political landscape and altered the balance of power between the challenger and the incumbent.
Anwar’s vindication of his innocence and his return to full political life from the precipice of a potentially lengthy prison term has brought the following consequences:
• It has spared Pakatan Rakyat the potential crisis of a leadership vacuum.
• On a personal level, it has revitalised Anwar and strengthened his position as the undisputed leader of the opposition group.
• It has enhanced his public image as prime minister-in-waiting who will lead Pakatan Rakyat to rid the country from the current quagmire of racial and religious dissension and economic malaise perpetrated by Barisan Nasional (BN).
• Having averted near catastrophe, Anwar’s new lease of political life will re-energise the Pakatan alliance and bring the component parties closer together as a compact fighting force.
• It has caused BN a disastrous set-back, for not only bringing a political plot that it has laboured for three-and-a-half years for naught, but also for damaging BN’s public image and credibility.
• It has demoralised BN and increased the risk of its fringe component parties deserting the mother ship.
• For whatever reason that precipitated this unexpected verdict — whether the last stage reversal was decided by the judge himself or by the political masters to avoid greater net loss of electoral support — such a disastrous finale has apparently deepened the conflict between the hardliners and reform-inclined faction within Umno.
The last point is important as it has the potential to cause an implosion in Umno — a thoroughly corrupted political party, void of political idealism, and characterized by its world famous brand of “money politics” and perennial in-fighting.
That there has been a last moment reversal is suggested by the following occurrences:
First, more than a week before D-day (January 9), blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK), long time Anwar loyalist, launched a vicious attack on Anwar, branding him a sodomite who was guilty as charged.
These attacks, which were widely publicised in Umno-control newspapers and TV channels, were recognised as a signal that Umno was still on-course to convict Anwar, and the RPK’s attack was a tactical move to pre-empt the potential backlash of an Anwar conviction.
Second, a few days before January 9, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein hinted a softening of stance against the proposed “free Anwar” mass rally on January 9, when he suggested to Anwar’s party PKR to seek permission for the rally from the police, which had up to that point vowed to crack down harshly on it.
And to the surprise of everyone, the police promptly gave their consent upon its first meeting with PKR, despite having vehemently opposed it previously. In hindsight, that could be the point in time when the decision to convict Anwar was reversed, as it makes sense not to clash with Anwar’s supporters when Anwar was already destined to be acquitted.
Third, it is odd that the judge should give only a one-minute verdict at the final judgment, while it took him one hour and fifty minutes to deliver his lengthy judgment at the interim stage to establish the prima facie case.
A palpable explanation is that the one-minute verdict was a last moment decision. Alternatively, it could be the honest but sketchy script of a judge who finally could not bring himself to pass a judgment that would condemn him and his descendents to eternal infamy.
That Umno’s hardline faction has been rattled by the Anwar acquittal is seen in the uncharacteristically belated response of faction leaders deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
As expected, both hypocritically claimed that the Anwar verdict was proof that the Executive had never interfered with the judiciary. Such manifestly untrue claims only re-confirm that these hardliners are still living in the past, grossly out of tune with the tempo of the Internet age.
These political dinosaurs belong to history. They don’t deserve to rule Malaysia.
Kim Quek is the author of the book, “The March to Putrajaya”.
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