Anwar: My time is up, I’ll miss you guys

(Malay Mail Online) – Convicted again of sodomy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told families and supporters here to pray that he is robust enough to endure the five years of prison that he was sentenced to by the Federal Court today.

He also said that he did not know where he will be incarcerated for the duration of his sentence, as he bade them farewell before being led out of the courtroom after sentencing.

“For our future we have to be patient, pray that I am in good health unlike the past,” he said when addressing the gallery.

“It is a price I have to pay for freedom of justice.”

An aide told reporters that Anwar will be allowed to have lunch with friends and families before he is taken to prison.

“My time is up. I’ll miss you guys,” he tells supporters as he was led away by bailiffs.

Earlier, Anwar launched into a diatribe accusing the Federal Court of being “partners in crime to the murder of the judiciary” and staying on the “dark side” with its decision to uphold the Court of Appeal decision to reverse his acquittal.

The ruling by the Federal Court today upholding an earlier Court of Appeal decision that reversed Anwar’s acquittal of sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhary Azlan effectively ends the opposition leader’s legal options to challenge the conviction.

He now stands to lose his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat as the law bars anyone fined over RM2,000 or imprisoned more than one year from serving as a lawmaker.

The decision also leaves the Pakatan Rakyat federal opposition pact without a leader.