There was good reason Anwar Ibrahim wanted the Sodomy II
presiding judge disqualified. He was too junior and green to handle a court
case of Sodomy II’s magnitude. And rightly so, since he was brought in by a
system so compromised by the Executive branch of the government, it is an
embarrassment.
This can also be said about the court's dismissal of a
summons to Prime Minister Najib Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor to appear as
witnesses in the sodomy trial that Anwar has accused them of 'rigging'.
The reason given was that Najib and Rosmah would not be able
to provide relevant information concerning the Sodomy II accusations. Mohd
Zabidin Mohd Diah agreed with Najib and Rosmah in that they were not relevant.
"Hence, I allow the applications and order the trial to continue,"
said Zabidin.
The response from Anwar was one of dismay. "We have
evidence to support that the duo was (involved). Our position is that this was
planned. Najib should come and deny it. The prosecution offered Najib and
Rosmah as witnesses. If they are not relevant, why were they offered?"
Anwar told reporters later.
Prosecution
would offer 'irrelevant' witnesses?
Yes, it was the prosecution who offered the duo as witnesses
and yet it is the same prosecution that seems adamant to protect Najib and
Rosmah. The argument that the duo is not relevant to the Sodomy II trial is
simplistic and dead-wrong.
The very nature of Najib’s initial denial and subsequent
retraction when confronted with the question, if he knew Saiful Bukhari Azlan,
reeks of conspiracy. What was discussed by Najib and Saiful, days before the
latter made the police report? What was the nature of the relationship between
Saiful and Najib to the extent the former could so easily meet Najib, who was
already the deputy prime minister, at his residence to discuss ‘scholarship’
matters?
Yet, the questions go deeper than just this. What are Najib
and Rosmah hiding from public view? Why the allergic reaction to appearing in
court? And to compound it all, the courts seem to be colluding with the duo in
their wishes to stay away.
Judicial
rot
This is the biggest mystery yet and it shows the expanse of
the rot within the judiciary. The courts of law are supposed to be independent
of the Executive branch of a government. It is the bastion of hope for those
who are unable to defend themselves, yet in Malaysia, the courts have made it a
standard prosedure to kow-tow to those in the elite section of society. The
courts can be bought or bent or pressured and this is exactly what happened in
the Sodomy II case.
Should not testimony be first heard and then deemed relevant
or irrelevant by the judge? Yet, Mohd Zabidin deemed the testimony irrelevant
before even hearing it nor questioning it? Should not the judge have acted in
the interests of the public and made Najib and Rosmah, as citizens of Malaysia,
defend their innocence in a court of law? It is for the courts to settle once
and for all whether the duo is innocent or guilty, but only after their
testimony is heard.
In this regard, Mohd Zabidin reacted unprofessionally and
brought further embarrassment to an institution that should always put public
interest in the foreground, ahead of all other interest. Otherwise, civil
society in Malaysia might as welll be dead and gone. It would all be a sham.
Look
at the Wall St protest
The very institution that should the cornerstone of liberty
and citizen rights is compromised. There are double standards - practiced and
enforced by those placed in the seats of justice by an equally corrupt
Executive. And the rot is not merely in the judiciary but also within every arm
of the justice system.
Why is it that the US Wall Street protest has been going on
for days, yet the tear gas canister count still stands at zero? Here in the
streets of Kuala Lumpur, on July 9, a peaceful march in support for free and
fair elections was attacked by the police who fired 262 tear gas canisters.
They Malaysian police also shot acid water from water canons
and threw smoke bombs at their countrymen, who were unarmed and sat on the
ground to show they came in peace. This is also the same police force that gave
Anwar Ibrahim the black eye in the first Sodomy trial in 1998, what more
horrors are in store for Anwar once judgement is passed for Sodomy II.
Time
to punch out Najib and Rosmah
It is clear, the rush to keep Najib out of court coincides
with the coming 13th general election. Yes, keep Anwar tied up with the Sodomy
II trial, call snap general elections, thus ensuring that Anwar and his Pakatan
Rakyat coalition are handicapped in contesting.
This is the ultimate goal of Sodomy II, eliminate Anwar from
the political landscape at all cost. Yet, Najib has underestimated the nature
of Malaysians. Malaysians did not need Anwar to march on July 9, Malaysians did
it for Malaysia.
And though Najib thinks he has the upperhand, it will be
Malaysia who will finally hand him and wife Rosmah the well-deserved and
long-overdue knockout punch.
Source : MC
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