A soap opera written, directed and produce by Che Det The Great!

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Source   :  Washington Post, Nov 3, 1998
Comment  :  Is Mahathir above the Law in contempt for publicly saying
that Anwar is guilty and should be convicted? He passed the Bill, he
approved it but yet he didn't follow the Rules.  What a jerk!
 
 

Malaysian Loses Bid to Block Trial
Judge Denies Rights Groups Observer Status

                        By Keith B. Richburg
                        Washington Post Foreign Service
                        Tuesday, November 3, 1998; Page A10

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Nov. 2—A High Court judge today opened a
politically explosive corruption and sodomy trial of ousted deputy prime
minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has become a symbol of the struggle for
change and reform of Malaysia's authoritarian government.

As heavily armed security forces ringed the courthouse to prevent crowds
of Anwar's supporters from massing, his lawyers and prosecutors spent
the day involved in legal wrangling, which ended when the judge,
Augustine Paul, rejected defense pleas to drop the charges as invalid
and ruled that the case will proceed.

Anwar has pleaded innocent, and said the lurid charges against him were
trumped up by his former boss, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, to
remove Anwar just as he was set to expose corruption and nepotism among
Malaysia's ruling elite. Today, Anwar appeared in high spirits, if
somewhat thinner after six weeks in jail, and he told reporters, "It's
going to be tough in the first phase of the trial, but what can we do?"

Since his firing in September, and his arrest 18 days later, Anwar has
emerged as the focal point of an unprecedented anti-government reform
movement, and his trial has attracted worldwide attention from human
rights groups, Malaysia's neighbors and the U.S. government.

The presiding judge stirred controversy immediately by saying the
representatives of international human rights and legal groups will not
be granted official observer status, but will have to compete with
others for one of the 50 or so seats in the small courtroom. Granting
observer status to the outsiders, the judge said, would "give the
impression that the court may not be dispensing justice."

Also, the trial will be conducted in the national language, Malay,
instead of English, which is often used in trials here.

Many said they see this trial as a test case of whether the judiciary
here has retained its traditional independence, or has fallen victim to
the encroaching authoritarianism that has characterized Mahathir's 17
years in power.

"It's more than just Anwar who is on trial now," said Rustan Sani,
deputy president of the Malaysian Social Science Association. "Anwar is
just one case of many," he said. "I think even if they find him guilty,
that [still] leaves the question of the credibility of the judiciary.
All the institutions of working democracy, like the police, the press,
the judiciary, they are all suffering from a crisis of credibility."

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International, which is
monitoring the trial, issued a statement outside the courthouse that
summed up the international concern. "The significance of today's trial
goes far beyond the fate of Anwar Ibrahim," it said. "The trial and
its outcome will influence the path Malaysia takes as a society, either
toward greater respect for the human rights principles enshrined in the
Malaysian constitution, or toward a more repressive climate marked by
the arbitrary and selective use of the law for political purposes."

Anwar was facing trial today on just four of the 10 charges lodged
against him. The four, all corruption charges, concern government
allegations that he tried to interfere with police investigations into
whether he engaged in sodomy. He also faces five counts of sodomy that
will be heard later. Sodomy is a crime in Malaysia.

The trial on all the charges is expected to last well into next year.
But the judge has ordered a recess in mid-November, as Malaysia hosts
this year's summit meeting of the Asia Pacific Cooperation Forum, which
will bring world leaders from Asian and Pacific countries, including
President Clinton, to Kuala Lumpur. Police fear Anwar's supporters may
try to stage demonstrations during the summit to attract international
attention.

Anwar faces 14 years in prison on each of the corruption counts, and 20
years plus a whipping on each of the sodomy charges. Malaysia's attorney
general also suggested he may file more charges against Anwar for sexual
misconduct, possibly involving alleged sexual liaisons with
prostitutes and committing adultery. Those were among the allegations
Mahathir leveled at his former deputy after he fired him.

There is no jury here; Anwar's guilt or innocence will be decided by the
presiding judge, but his verdict is open to appeal.

Today, Anwar's lawyers asked the judge to find Mahathir in contempt for
publicly saying that Anwar is guilty and should be convicted.