Anwar’s former speech writer seeks to clear his name

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 28 — All he wants is for his story to be heard in court, a chance to clear his name from the stigma of a conviction for sodomy, a crime he says he did not commit.

On Thursday, the Federal Court will decide if it has the jurisdiction to review the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision which threw out Dr Munawar Anees's application for an appeal over a sodomy conviction which dates back about a decade.

Pakistan-born Munawar is a former speech writer to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when the latter held the post of Deputy Prime Minister. He was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court alongside Sukma Darmawan, Anwar's adopted brother, for performing "intercourse against the order of nature" with Anwar. Both men were found guilty and sentenced to six months' jail in 1998. Munawar served the sentence.

However, he then filed an appeal against his conviction in the KL High Court. He claimed that the plea of guilty entered in his name during the initial trial was made under duress. He has since attempted to obtain a hearing for his appeal in the High Court but failed.

Today, his lawyer, Manjeet Singh Dhillon, told the three-member Federal Court that he was not asking the Federal Court to reverse the decision or set aside the conviction made by the High Court.

"I'm asking the court to let his appeal be heard in the High Court on its own merits," Manjeet said.

"It has never been heard in the High Court," he added.

Manjeet told The Malaysian Insider that on the day the appeal was brought up in the High Court, Munawar was absent from the hearing as he was away in the US — where he is based — and the presiding judge, Justice Wahab Patail, had struck out the appeal before hearing Munawar's submissions.

Munawar, now 60, is a project management consultant with the US-based John Templeton Foundation. He flew into Malaysia alone just two days ago for the Federal Court hearing and is staying at a hotel in Petaling Jaya.

"I have been seeking justice for the past 10 years," Munawar told The Malaysian Insider outside the courtroom before the hearing.

"The system has not allowed me to say what I want to say. It has given judgment and held me in detention, illegally, on false charges.

"It has been a traumatic story for the past 10 years, psychologically, physically, financially. My kids grew up under this fear and smear system. My reputation has been tarnished. What I'm looking for is, yes, that there will be a moment of justice," said Munawar.

-TMI