We need to move on and deal with more important matters

The judicial system, of which Zabidin is a part, entertained every single application by Anwar and his defence team, including those to get the judge to recuse himself from hearing the case. So, to many laymen, it was indeed surprising that Zabidin made a ruling favouring Anwar despite the many attempts to discredit the judge.

THE STAR

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II trial has come to pass and the verdict has surprised many, including those involved directly in the trial.

Even Anwar admits that he was surprised by the decision of High Court judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah to acquit him.

Much has been written about the controversial hearing that started three years ago when Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan lodged a police report accusing Anwar of sodomising him.

Saiful was the PKR adviser’s former secretary.

Without going into the merits of Zabidin’s decision, it would seem that many see it as an expression of the independence of the judiciary.

For others, it was simply a straightforward case of a judge making a decision on the evidence presented in the court.

But to be fair, the Government has always maintained that the case was a matter between Anwar and Saiful.

For some, this decision reaffirms the credibility of the judiciary.

The judicial system, of which Zabidin is a part, entertained every single application by Anwar and his defence team, including those to get the judge to recuse himself from hearing the case.

So, to many laymen, it was indeed surprising that Zabidin made a ruling favouring Anwar despite the many attempts to discredit the judge.

It would be fair to say that most Malaysians have also become fed-up with a trial that had dragged on for too long and disgusted with the details that were put before the court just like in the Sodomy I trial more than a decade ago.

This Sodomy II trial has been as divisive as the first one. Not many Malaysians took the middle ground – one either believed Anwar or Saiful. Most of them also saw it as a political trial.

Many things, according to political pundits, hinged on this trial, including when the next general election would be held and whether the Opposition-held states would join the hustings if Barisan Nasional were to call for one.

For most Malaysians, the continuous political posturing has been a chore and very distracting from the real tasks that face us in 2012.

The world economy looks as if it is not going to improve any time soon, with the Eurozone still recovering from the brink of a meltdown while the United States is totally distracted by its upcoming presidential elections. To top all this, China – the world’s engine of growth – is slowing down.

We should now urgently close this chapter on Sodomy II and move on to more important matters.