Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Sodomy II: Judgment and Appeal

Either it was good judgment and therefore, bad to appeal; or bad judgment and therefore, good to appeal. Similarly, either there was political interference or no interference, not both; it is ludicrous to claim credit for a good judgment (as if there was political intervention), and then claim the appeal by prosecution after a good judgment as no intervention and declare that it was independent of political interference...

Excerpt from Kim Quek's Appeal against Anwar's acquittal a fatal error:

U-turn has damaged Najib

With these words still ringing in the ears, it therefore came as a shock that the Attorney-General had filed a notice of appeal against the Anwar acquittal on Jan 20.

Even more shocking was Najib’s complete dissociation with this appeal the next day. The New Straits Times quoted him as saying that the appeal was something strictly between the complainant and the Attorney-General, and has nothing to do with his government and Barisan Nasional (BN).

Extending this rationale by Najib, it must follow that high court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah’s decision to acquit and discharge Anwar should have even less to do with him, the BN and the government. Then on what basis was Najib claiming that judge Zabidin’s decision was proof of the extensive political reforms that he purportedly had carried out for the country?

Isn’t it obvious that when Najib claimed the verdict as proof of his reforms, he was in fact telling the world that (a) he had undue control over the investigative and judicial process, (b) he realized it was wrong in exerting such control for illegitimate political purposes, and (c) he had agreed to cease such interference as a step toward restoration of democracy and rule of law?

In fact the whole world knew as much that it was political persecution right from the very beginning of Anwar’s ordeal three and a half years ago. He was savagely arrested and subsequently charged without an iota of evidence, save for the complainant’s obviously dishonest claim. Otherwise, why shouldn’t the world have expected rather than be shocked by the verdict?

It is high time that Najib and his colleagues move out from their self-induced delusion that the people do not know. It is for their own good that they do not misjudge the extent of the people’s awareness of the truth in this Internet age of instant information.

If there is any message that we can read from this latest move to appeal against Anwar’s acquittal, it is that this appeal is proving for the umpteenth time that Najib’s words are not to be trusted; and it also shows up once again that his so-called political reform is more an illusion than reality."

More:
http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2296:appeal-against-anwars-acquittal-a-fatal-error&catid=178:yong-thye-chong&Itemid=193
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