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AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 28, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 7/8
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Roslan
Rahman/AFP.
A decision not unexpected: Anwar waves to his supporters after being
sentenced.
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Rough
Justice
The
Anwar verdict is drawing scorn at home and abroad. Will Malaysia ever
be the same?
By ANTHONY SPAETH
For 14 months, it has been a near-daily ritual in downtown Kuala Lumpur.
A police van pulls up to the Moorish-style Sultan Abdul Samad courthouse
and noses through a crowd of journalists before it disgorges its prisoner:
Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister. Anwar waves to the gathering
and follows armed policemen into the building. Last Tuesday, that scene
went according to scriptbut the drama inside had finally reached
its climax. As police and court workers strained to peer inside the windows,
Justice Arifin Jaka proclaimed Anwar guilty of sodomy. Asked to offer
any mitigating circumstances before he was sentenced, Anwar accused the
judge of merely following a "preordained script." The judge replied: "You
cannot attack my judgment." Anwar continued a fiery denunciation of the
trial, and soon his relatives within the courtroom started chanting Islamic
invocations about Allah and ultimate justice. Arifin finally blurted:
"You are a sick man." More arguments followed, and Anwar finished by telling
the judge: "I wish you well with your conscience and religious beliefs."
Returning to the police vehicle, Anwar waved to supporters outside the
building with more determination than ever. His wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
had tears in her eyes. But Anwar's odysseys to and from the courtroom
were over: Arifin sentenced him to nine years in prison, on top of the
six-year term he received last year in his first trial, on abuse-of-power
charges. The one-time heir apparent to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
could be staring at prison walls until 2014, barring time off for good
behavioror an earthquake in Malaysian politics.
In delivering his verdict, Arifin said he was "satisfied that the prosecution
had proved its case," but little such satisfaction could be found outside
the court. The verdict was condemned by opposition parties, the Malaysian
Bar Council and lawyers who observed the trial. "It is very painful to
see this," said Param Cumaraswamy, the Kuala Lumpur-based United Nations
Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. "Most of
the public has now lost confidence in the judiciary."
Foreign observers were also outraged. The International Commission of
Jurists called the decision "politically motivated." Australia, New Zealand,
the European Union and even the World Bank expressed dismay. U.S. Vice
President Al Gore said that Anwar had endured a "show trial" that was
"designed to remove Anwar from the political arena indefinitely." For
his part, Prime Minister Mahathir responded that Anwar had received a
fair trial. "The court thinks that is the right punishment," he said.
Until judgment day, some legal analysts had considered it possible that
Anwar might be acquitted, considering the quality of the evidenceor,
as is usual in common-law jurisdictions like Malaysia, given a sentence
that would run concurrently with the earlier term. The prosecution twice
had to change the dates of the alleged sexual misdeedsin one case
after defense lawyers noted that the building in which they were supposed
to have occurred did not exist at the time. The case rested heavily on
the evidence of a single witness, Azizan Abu Bakar, a former driver for
Anwar's wife, who contradicted himself several times during his cross-examination.
"This witness says one thing today and another thing tomorrow," Justice
Arifin himself said at one point. Harun Hashim, a retired Supreme Court
judge who now teaches law at the International Islamic University, said
during the trial that he was "surprised the judge called for the defenseI
would have thrown it out long ago."
Anwar told reporters after the verdict that Arifin was "only following
orders"a reference to his repeated contention that his legal troubles
are a political conspiracy masterminded by Mahathir. Anwar's lawyers had
demanded that Mahathir answer that charge during the trial; Arifin denied
the request. Anwar's adopted brother and co-defendant Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat
Madja was convicted of sodomizing Azizan and abetting Anwar, and was sentenced
to six years and four strokes of the cane. Anwar was spared corporal punishment
because of his age. He turned 53 last Thursday.
Despite admonitions from the government, 1,000 people congregated near
the courtroom the day the verdict was delivered, and eight opposition
figures were arrested for defying a ban on assembling at the courthouse.
Police broke up a demonstration of 300 people three days later. Several
more events were planned for the weekend. "We wanted to see how justice
is done in Malaysia," said a participant in the verdict-day protest, who
declined to give his name. Many Malaysians seemed stunned at the severity
of the sentence. "Maybe Anwar is guilty," said Sharif Alwi, 35, a restaurant
owner in the northern state of Perak, "but as Muslims we cannot be so
vengeful." Said S. Ramakrishnan, a lecturer on finance and accounting
at a Malaysian university: "It is a political verdict, and Mahathir is
out to finish Anwar off for good."
Anwar may not be finished, but he will be out of the public eye for quite
a while. Even with the normal time off for good behavior, his combined
sentences will keep him in jail until at least 2009. As a convicted criminal,
he will be forbidden from holding public office for five years after that,
by which time he will be 67. His brightest prospect is that Mahathir will
somehow pass from the scene and he will return in triumph as a martyr
figure. That possibility seems remote at the moment. The Prime Minister's
ruling coalition did lose ground to opposition parties in last November's
legislative elections, and public dissatisfaction over Anwar's treatment
was clearly a factor. Yet the coalition is still firmly in control of
the legislature, and the continuing recovery of the Malaysian economy
can only help its position.
As Anwar headed back to his jail cell last week to count down the long
days that lie ahead, he did have cause for hope. His predicament has so
troubled Malaysians that whoever succeeds Mahathir may be under pressure
to revisit the case. And Mahathir, who is now 74, may not then be in a
position to prevent his former deputy's rehabilitation. Anwar's days in
court may be over, but his career in politics may just be getting interesting.
With reporting by Mageswary Ramankrishnan and Ken Stier/Kuala Lumpur
Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com
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