FAC News - Wednesday, April 2, 2003 7:44 AM

Introduction to the Anwar Ibrahim Appeal Hearing

Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial is the first sex-related case in Malaysian history where the entire case rested on the testimony of only one witness, the prosecution’s star witness,  with no other corroborating evidence or witnesses. In this case, the prosecution’s star witness, Azizan Abu Bakar, who is also the ‘victim’, was alleged to have been sodomised by both Anwar and his adopted brother, Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja. Anwar and Sukma were convicted solely on Azizan’s testimony.

INTRODUCTION TO THE ANWAR IBRAHIM TRIALS

Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim was dismissed as Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister on 2 September 1998 on allegations of sexual misconduct.

On 2 November 1998, Anwar faced trial in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on four charges of corruption under Ordinance 22.

On 14 April 1999, the trial judge, Justice Augustine Paul, convicted and sentenced Anwar to six years imprisonment on each charge, the sentences to run concurrent. After a one-third remission, Anwar would have served his sentence on 14 April 2003.

On Monday, 7 June 1999, Anwar was charged a second time in the Kuala Lumpur High Court, this time for the offence of sodomy. The ‘victim’ of this alleged sodomy crime was Azizan Abu Bakar, the one-time driver of Anwar’s wife, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The High Court judge was Justice Dato' Arifin Jaka and the case was entitled PUBLIC PROSECUTOR vs. DATO’ SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM (In the High Court of Malaya, Federal Territory Criminal Trial No 45-51-98).

Anwar was jointly-tried with the second accused, Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, his Indonesian-born adopted brother. Sukma's case was entitled PUBLIC PROSECUTOR vs. SUKMA DARMAWAN SASMITAAT MADJA (In the High Court of Malaya, Federal Territory Criminal Trial No 45-26-99).

Anwar's and Sukma’s second (sodomy) trial took 118 days to complete and appears to be the longest High Court trial in the country’s history. On 8 August 2000, Anwar and Sukma were both convicted and received a nine-year and six-year sentence respectively, Sukma’s sentence that included four strokes of the rattan. Anwar, because of his age, was spared the rattan but he was handed down a longer jail term.

Anwar appealed against this second conviction (he lost his appeal on the first conviction) and, after an unusually long two-and-a-half year wait, the case finally came up for hearing on Monday, 24 March 2003.

The Appeal Hearing – Monday, 24 March 2003

DEFENCE TEAM

1. Christopher Fernando

2. Karpal Singh

3. Gurbachan Singh

4. Pawancheek Marican

5. S. Sankara Nair

6. Zulkifli Nordin

7. Jagdeev Singh Deo

8. Gobind Singh Deo

9. Saiful Hizam Ramli

10. Marisa Regina

PROSECUTION TEAM

1. Attorney-general, Abdul Gani Patail

2. Azhar Mohamad

3. Yusof Zainal Abidin

4. Shamsul Sulaiman

5. Ishak Mohd Yusof

6. Ahmad Fairuz Zainal Abidin

APPEAL COURT JUDGES

1. Dato’ Pajan Singh Gill

2. Dato’ Hashim Dato’ Yusoff

3. Dato’ Richard Malanjun