Anwar’s ‘farewell speech’ this evening means . . .

Tomorrow, said Klang MP Charles Santiago in a statement, the independence of the judiciary will be on trial.

KLANG: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is set to give a thunderous speech later this evening.

Tomorrow, said Klang MP Charles Santiago, the independence of the judiciary will be on trial. “If Anwar is found guilty despite the trail of weak evidence, it would only spell more doom for the country”.

“The country is also grappling with crucial economic issues, especially the weakening of the ringgit.” Again, Malaysia has recently come under the spotlight for trafficking, lack of freedom for the media and religious and racial intolerance, among others.

Many tout Anwar’s speech this evening as a farewell speech, as a guilty verdict from the country’s top court will seal his political career.

“After more than three years, the political high drama of Anwar’s sodomy trial will be over tomorrow,” reiterated Santiago. “And clearly that’s what it has been, a political persecution, spiced with weak evidence and the involvement of top political figures.”

The MP notes that only seven such cases have ever been heard in the country, with two of them being Anwar’s. “We hardly hear the police going after anyone for homosexuality, a so-called crime which needs to be decriminalized in the first place.”

But the government, from former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to current premier Najib Abdul Razak, was obsessed with smearing Anwar’s name with allegations of sexual misconduct, he alleged. “And this has been shamelessly going on for years.”

Revisiting the case, Santiago said that Anwar’s former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhairy Azlan, first said he was raped but subsequently changed his plea to consensual sex of an unnatural nature. It was two days before he was examined for sodomy and two hospitals concluded there was no tearing or scarring to show any anal sex.

The trial judge also concluded that the DNA evidence, crucial to the case, was tainted.

“The weak evidence therefore tilts towards an acquittal,” said Santiago. “And there is more.”

It was proven in court, reminded the MP, that Saiful met up with Najib (who was then Defence Minister) and his wife before lodging the police report. “The complainant himself acknowledged meeting top police officer Rodwan Mohd Yusof secretly, before exposing the alleged sodomy.”

During Anwar’s first sodomy trial in 1998, it was proven that Rodwan had planted DNA samples on a mattress used by Anwar, said Santiago.

The MP claimed that this trial was brought after a stunning performance by the Opposition at the 2008 General Election that denied the ruling coalition its two thirds majority in Parliament. “Anwar was largely seen as the person who made this feat possible.”

Besides, the Opposition won the popular vote in 2013, dealing another severe blow to Barisan Nasional. “Pakatan Rakyat was however kept from taking power because of the gerrymandering of districts.”

“It, therefore, does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that Anwar is seen as a threat to the continuous corrupt rule of the Barisan Nasional pact,” said Santiago.