Aug 16 verdict on strike out bid, birthday boy slams ‘cruel’ Najib
(Free Malaysia Today) – The High Court will decide on Aug 16 regarding the application by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who turned 63 today, to strike out his sodomy charge.
Earlier, the PKR supremo had celebrated his birthday at the court complex together with his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who came with a bunch of purple flowers for her husband.
Also present were PKR leader and former minister Chua Jui Meng and Anwar’s legal team, headed by Karpal Singh.
Speaking to reporters later, Anwar lashed out at Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, saying that the latter’s ruthlessness knew no bounds.
He said Najib and his proxies lacked the courage to deny the alleged affair between star witness Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan and deputy public prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif.
“Najib and his government’s cruelty towards me reflects the prime minister’s attempt to exhaust all his influence to hamper my (political) advancement.
“The judiciary also does not have the gumption to decide fairly on cases involving Pakatan Rakyat because it fears the backlash from Najib and therefore is forced to toe the line,” he said.
Facing an uphill battle
Meanwhile, Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah adjourned the matter to next Monday after hearing submissions on the application this morning.
Anwar’s application is based on the ground that the integrity and impartiality of the entire prosecution team had been compromised as a result of the alleged affair between Mohd Saiful and Farah.
Yesterday, the court dismissed an application by Anwar to call both Mohd Saiful and Farah as witnesses to give evidence on their alleged affair.
Anwar’s lawyers said previously that the sodomy trial had been compromised as a result of the relationship since Mohd Saiful could have had access to the details of the prosecution’s strategy as well as to notes from other witnesses.
The prosecution however claimed that Farah was just a note-taker in the prosecution team and had no access to legal documents and other sensitive material.
Both Mohd Saiful and Farah have not said anything publicly about the alleged relationship.
The court also dismissed an application to cross-examine DPP Mohd Hanafiah Zakaria on the allegation that he hd flouted syariah laws in relation to his second marriage in Thailand.
Mohd Hanafiah had earlier filed a sworn affidavit testifying that prosecution’s documents were not leaked to his colleague, Farah Azlina.
Anwar, who said that he was facing an uphill battle in his strike out application, added: “It is clear that there was an affair (between Mohd Saiful and Farah) to the point that they are afraid of denying it… why have they not challenged me on this and prove that my allegation is wrong.”
“The abuses in my sodomy case are evident, but the judge has still failed to strike out the matter,” he added.
