| Days after his sodomy conviction was overturned by the Malaysian
Federal Courts, lawyers representing former Malaysian Prime
Minister, Mr Anwar Ibrahim are appealing against his corruption
conviction.
Mr Anwar Ibrahim was arrested and jailed in 1999 over allegations
of sodomy and corruption. The sodomy charge has since been
overturned.
But what was the precise nature of the charges that brought
about Mr Anwar's corruption conviction?
A question Melanie Yip put to Professor Shamsul Amri (SA)
from University Kebangsaan Malaysia.
SA: Well, he was charged for abusing power, in the process
of investigation for his sodomy case. At that time, he apparently
seeked the support of the police, and also some others to
clear his name during the investigation. The charge was brought
about due to his alleged abuse of power to clear his name,
vis-a-vis the sodomy charge.
What is the possibility of Mr Anwar Ibrahim's corruption
conviction being overturned this time round?
SA: Well, I do not know exactly how that could be overturned
because this case differs from the sodomy charge, the evidence
presented was stronger, clearer, and they received the information
from a variety of sources. So the sodomy charge was quite
different, from what I can remember.
Mr Anwar has already served six years in prison. Was the
prison term solely for his sodomy charge, or did the prison
term include corruption charges as well?
SA: The prison term was basically concurrent for both, but
now, the sodomy charge is overturned so it is scrapped. So
what is left is the prison term for the corruption charges.
If Mr Anwar's appeal to overturn the corruption charge is
successful, what happens then?
SA: Well, if he were to win this case, or his appeal is accepted,
then all the charges and whatever jail term he has served
will equate to none. Therefore, he is back to his original
political position immediately, almost immediately. That means,
he will have no record of being in jail, so I do not know
if he can ask for compensation, but I have rarely heard of
people asking for compensation as a result of being wrongly
charged or convicted.
However, if Mr Anwar's appeal to overturn his conviction
for corruption fails, it will result in little change for
the political landscape in Malaysia,
Says Dr Kamarulnizam Abdullah (KA) of the Strategic Studies
and International Relations Department at the National University
of Malaysia.
KA: I think that if the appeal for corruption charges to
be overturned fails, it doesn't change the political landscape,
and current situation, whereby first, Anwar Ibrahim will be
barred from standing from any position in politics for the
next five years. I do think it applies to the next ten years
because usually elections in Malaysia are called early. The
next election will be in 2008, and usually the government
will call it early, and most probably one year early. Second
thing is Anwar will assume a different role if his appeal
fails, he will likely become a man behind the scenes, especially
for the opposition party, like Keadilaan, and maybe for PAS
(Parti Islam SeMalaysia).
If we flip to the other side of the coin, if Mr Anwar's appeal
to overturn the corruption charge is successful, what happens
then?
KA: Then, there are two possibilities. First, we need to
take into account his health situation. If his health does
not permit him to be active in politics, then there will be
no change and the current situation maintains. The second
situation is if his health situation permits, he will be able
to enter politics actively, and will change the political
landscape of Malaysia politics. He will be a vibrant and strong
contender in Malay politics. I'm not sure whether he will
join Keadilaan or PAS because the current situation is still
unclear. I'm not sure whether he can unite PAS and DAP into
one opposition front, because if you look at the history behind
DAP and PAS, the DAP rejected the notion of an Islamic state
proposed by PAS. But it is something that UMNO had to think
about if the conviction is overturned by the appeal court
tomorrow. It should not worry Prime Minister Abdullah because
he is in a strong, solid position in the country, he won by
a landslide in the last General Election. But it is something
that other leaders of UMNO, those who have the ambition to
be at the top of UMNO. If these leaders would like to lead
UMNO, then they will have to face competition from leaders
who have the charisma, and have great support from the younger
generation.
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