Trial-by-media to persecute Anwar
PKR’s secretary general is crying foul over the manner the media is highlighting Anwar’s role in the sex tape involving Datuk T trio.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Certain segments of society are not questioning whether Anwar Ibrahim is indeed the person in the sex video but the manner of how he is being persecuted in certain media outlets and the court.
This has generated a belief to reject academic indications that Anwar is the person seen as having a series of sex acts with a yet to be identified woman.
PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that Anwar was portrayed as guilty in public without a chance of him defending himself and this has invoked loads of empathy and sympathy among the fence sitters.
“Do not underestimate our Malaysians’ ability to empathise with what is going on around them. Look at the swelling of crowds at political rallies which Anwar is addressing of late,” he warned.
Saifuddin said even the rural dwellers who are perceived to be ill-informed can also empathise with him, regardless of the notion that Anwar is now seen as the main character in the video due to findings by US experts.
On why Anwar has yet to initiate legal action against his accusers, Saifuddin concluded that the former has already lodged a police report against them and this should suffice.
About rumours that the main projectionist Shazryl Eskay Abdullah is a close friend of Anwar, Saifuddin claimed that it was untrue as the latter was nothing more than a physiotherapist who had treated Anwar for backache.
“As far as we know Shazryl (Eskay) was employed in the National Sports Institute then. He is not a family friend or a confidant.”
The perceived campaign to impair Anwar at all costs has botched, leaving loopholes for the PKR leader or Pakatan Rakyat to exploit, he added.
On Friday, the Attorney-General’s Chambers decided to charge the trio of Shazryl who is now a businessman, former Perkasa treasurer-general Shuib Lazim and former Malacca chief minister Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik for possessing lewd, obscene or pornographic material.
Shazryl Eskay and Shuib pleaded guilty to openly screening a sex video between a man and a woman. Abdul Rahim pleaded guilty to abetting them.
Shazryl Eskay and Shuib were charged under Section 292 (A) of Penal Code (Act 574) and punishable under Section 292 of Penal Code. The charge read together Section 34 of Penal Code carries a three years’ imprisonment or a fine or both upon convictions.
Abdul Rahim was charged under Section 292 (a) of Penal Code (Act 574) read together with Section 109 of Penal Code.
They were charged with committing the offence in the Seri Makmur Room of Carcosa Seri Negara Hotel here between 10am and 12pm on March 21.
They pleaded guilty after the charge was read to them before magistrate Aizatul Akmal Maharani and they were subsequently fined.
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Shazryl Eskay was fined RM3,000 in default of three months’ jail while Shuib was slapped with a RM1,500 fine in default of two months’ jail. Abdul Rahim was fined RM1,000 in default of a month’s jail.
In court, it was also revealed two US experts from Dartmouth College had confirmed that the video was authentic and there was a 99.99% possibility the man in the video was Anwar.
