Idris and Yusuf to prosecute in Anwar's case

• Anwar’s legal team to tackle charge head-on
• Anwar to be charged with sodomy
• Pak Lah: I am not involved in sodomy charge
• Saiful thankful Anwar finally brought to justice

KUALA LUMPUR: Solicitor-General Datuk Idris Harun and the Attorney-General's Chambers prosecution chief Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden will lead the prosecution against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.

Idris, 53, confirmed that he would be there together with Yusof to prefer a charge of sodomy against Anwar.

“I will be there tomorrow (today),” he said, declining to comment further on the matter.

Idris has been thrust into the limelight as the Government had decided that Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and Inspector- General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan should not be involved in the newest sodomy case against Anwar.

This was because the former deputy prime minister had accused the two of fabricating evidence against him when he was assaulted while in the police lock-up in 1998.

There is nothing curious about the S-G making the decision to prosecute because he is legally empowered to perform any of the functions performed by the A-G, as provided for under Section 40A of the Eleventh Schedule to the Federal Constitution.

Under Section 376(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the S-G shall have all the powers of a Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) and shall act as Public Prosecutor in the absence or inability of the A-G to act.

Idris, an honours law graduate of Universiti Malaya, was appointed Malaysia's 16th S-G on April 27, 2006.

He was a parliamentary draftsman before that appointment and has largely done civil work in his 28 years in the Judicial and Legal Service.

He has also served as a DPP with the Royal Customs & Excise Department between 1992 and 1993.

Idris has also held the post of head of the prosecution unit of Kuala Lumpur and served as senior federal counsel for the Anti-Corruption Agency.

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Anwar’s legal team to tackle charge head-on

PETALING JAYA: The group of lawyers defending PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim say they are ready to tackle the sodomy charge head-on, including the political conspiracy theory.

They also expressed their disappointment that neither they nor Anwar had seen the copy of the police report lodged by his accuser Mohd Saifuil Bukhari Azlan or the medical report.

“The legal team has not been given anything by the police or the prosecution. Nothing. But we will fight hard with the few resources as we are going against the might of the state, “ said lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah.

Sulaiman said that the political underpinnings of the criminal case were “undeniable.”

“The sequence is clear. Datuk Seri announced he is running for the Permatang Pauh by-election. The Election Commission fixes nomination day (on Wednesday) and almost immediately he (Anwar) is summoned to appear in court.

“The nexus between the one and the other is unmistakable. Datuk Seri is facing the dual burden of the allegations and the fight to save the nation.

“He has not flinched and will face this trial fortified with prayers from his family and friends,” he said yesterday at a press conference called by Anwar.

Anwar will be represented by three other main lawyers besides Sulaiman, namely PKR vice-president and Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah, Sankara Nair and Saiful Izham Ramli.

Four or five more lawyers would be on stand-by as back-up.

Sankara Nair said that Anwar would likely be charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code for voluntarily committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature.

“This is a non-bailable offence but normally bail is granted by the court for sodomy and rape offences, except for Anwar. They don't like to give,” he quipped.

Sankara Nair also said there was no previous indication that Anwar would be charged today until he received the phone call at 8.47am yesterday from the police.

“I was told to bring my client to court at 10am to be charged. I then received a fax at 10am and then Brickfields CID Chief Deputy Supt Jude Pereira personally handed over the notice to Anwar at 12.20pm. We are ready to battle it out,” he said.

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Anwar to be charged with sodomy

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be charged today with sodomy and the legal battle will have serious implications on his comeback bid in the Permatang Pauh by-election, which he engineered by getting his wife to resign the seat.

Nomination Day is set for Aug 16 and polling day 10 days after that, but the question now is whether the PKR adviser will be on hand to personally campaign or will he be locked up as a sodomy is a non-bailable offence.

Reacting to the Election Commission announcements on the date and the authorities’ decision to charge him, Anwar accused the Government of conspiracy to fix him to prevent him from making a political comeback.

He even held Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi personally responsible. Anwar cited the timing of the EC’s announcement and when the police served him with the notice that he is to be charged for sexually assaulting his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari.

Brickfields CID chief Asst Supt Jude Pereira was at the PKR de facto leader's house in Bukit Segambut at about 12.15pm, five minutes after the EC issued its statement.

However, Abdullah denied Anwar’s claims, and stressed that he had reminded police not to charge Anwar if they did not have enough evidence.

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Pak Lah: I am not involved in sodomy charge

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has denied being involved in the fresh sodomy charge against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and to sabotage the PKR adviser’s attempt to return to Parliament.

“How can I insist that he be charged? If there is no evidence the police are not stupid to charge him,” the Prime Minster said when commenting on Anwar’s accusation that he (Abdullah) had planned the sodomy charge.

Abdullah dismissed Anwar’s claim that the charge was an attempt to deflect public’s attention from the Government’s problems.

“The Government’s problem is a huge problem and this one is not going to deflect other kind of problems we are having at the moment. I don’t see that,” he told reporters after chairing the Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting yesterday.

He said he had never given the police the impression that he wanted Anwar to be charged.

“I am not one to ask people to charge (other people). I did say that if you have something to charge and you have evidence then charge. If you don’t have evidence then drop the charge, drop the whole thing and the investigation.

“So that is up to them to see and decide on the basis of their investigation whether there is enough evidence to charge or not,” the prime minister said.

Abdullah also said that if the police had enough evidence, they were duty bound to charge Anwar because they had to protect the rights of Anwar’s accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

“Don’t forget that there is another person, Saiful. You seem to forget Saiful and you think Anwar is more important. This is the issue of the law,” he said.

On Anwar’s claim that the charge was meant to sabotage his election campaign due to its timing which coincided with the Election Commission’s announcement of the Permatang Pauh by-election date, Abdullah said that he was not the one who announced the date and he did not ask for the charge to coincide with it.

“But the story of the charge against him is not new and emerged even before (Anwar’s wife and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr) Wan Azizah (Ismail) resigned (as Permatang Pauh MP),” he said.

On whether Saiful would also be charged if he was a willing partner, he said:

“You better read your law. If there is rape the accused will have to face action. This is a matter for the law. But I am not lawyer and I won’t get involved. We’ll see what happens in court.”

Asked about possible street demonstrations, he said: “Anwar should tell them not to resort to demonstrate.”

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Saiful thankful Anwar finally brought to justice

PETALING JAYA: Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan is thankful to Allah that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will finally be brought to face justice.

His lawyer Zamri Idrus said in a statement that Mohd Saiful, who was Anwar’s former aide, would give full co-operation to ensure that the judicial court process ran smoothly.

“Mohd Saiful also hopes that all Malaysians will pray that the legal process is carried out smoothly so the truth can be proven in a just manner,” he said yesterday.

Zamri also said he would hold a watching brief for Mohd Saiful today.

In another development, the doctor who examined Mohd Saiful has failed to report for work after going on leave and cannot be contacted, said Hospital Pusrawi.

The hospital’s medical director, Dr Kamaruddin Ahmad, said Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid was supposed to return to work three days ago after his two-week leave.

“I think he is afraid to return to duty,” said Dr Kamaruddin when contacted by mStar yesterday.

Any action, he said, would only be taken once the hospital has spoken to Dr Mohamed Osman.

Dr Mohamed Osman, a Myanmar national, was put under the spotlight when his medical report on Mohd Saiful was leaked on the Internet on July 29.

The report stated that there was no sign that Mohd Saiful was sodomised as alleged in his police report in June.

The hospital had since denied that they had performed a sodomy examination on Mohd Saiful.

-TMB