The Hindu : International : Anwar barred from politics for some time

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Friday, Sep 03, 2004

International

International

Anwar barred from politics for some time

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, SEPT. 2. Malaysia's former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, was today set free from prison after the Federal court in Putrajaya set aside his conviction in the "sodomy case" against him.

Once a leading political dissident, Mr. Anwar thanked the judges for annulling his sentence, and later told reporters that he would "give credit" to the Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and "remain committed" to the "struggle for justice."

`Healing process'

Today's 2-1 majority judgment is seen in South East Asian political circles as a window of opportunity for a "healing process" in Malaysia, where Mr. Abdullah Badawi is said to have let the law take its course in a politically sensitive case.

Mr. Anwar can resume his political career only after the end of a mandatory period of ineligibility , said Karim Raslan, a Malaysian lawyer and political commentator.

The period of Mr. Anwar's political disqualification starts from the date of completion of his prison term awarded for his "corrupt practices" while in office.

The ruling by the apex court applies only to the "sodomy case." Mr. Anwar has already served his sentence in the "corruption case", in which he lost all appeals. The period Mr. Anwar spent behind bars in the last case, as well as that in the partially reduced sentence for the "corruption case", will be factors deciding his period of political disqualification.

Mr. Anwar was removed from office in 1998 by the then Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, before being tried for alleged corrupt practices.

Convicted and sentenced in April 1999 , he was thereafter tried and sentenced in the "sodomy case" . Malaysia's Court of Appeal rejected his petition in the second case in April 2003.

Not proven

Upholding a follow-up appeal, the Federal court today ruled that the allegations against Mr. Anwar and his adopted brother, Sukma Darmawan, were not proven beyond reasonable doubt. The two were accused of committing `sodomy' by Mr. Anwar's family chauffeur, Azizan Abu Bakr, at Mr. Sukma's apartment, between January and March 1993.

Repealing Mr. Anwar's sentence of a nine-year jail-term and Mr. Sukma's punishment of a six-year prison term, the Federal court's panel of three judges held, by a majority ruling, that Mr. Sukma's `confession' was not admissible as evidence.

The judge, Abdul Hamid Mohamad, said Mr. Sukma made his `confession' after being detained for 12 days and interrogated for 10 days.

The actual date of the alleged offence was also open to doubt.

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