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Saturday, 22-May-2004 11:43 AM Bail denied! Malaysia’s Federal Court today delivered its judgment on Anwar Ibrahim’s bail application and said bail is denied on grounds it does not have jurisdiction to hear the application under Section 89 (1) of the Court of Judicature Act (CJA). Furthermore, added the court, the application was made ‘post-appeal’, that is, after the appeal hearing had been heard. Although this decision had been highly expected and not many held any hopes of bail being granted, nevertheless the reasons offered by the court was still quite perplexing. As if to ‘soften the blow’, the court reiterated its earlier promise that it would come out with its decision on Anwar’s appeal ‘as soon as possible’. It also declared that its decision will be based purely on points of law and the evidence and that it will arrive at an ‘honest’ decision. Though this can certainly be interpreted as ‘political talk’ to fend off any criticism that the Malaysian judiciary is not in the least independent and that Anwar is a victim of a political conspiracy, it appears the Federal Court has admitted that Anwar did not get an ‘honest’ trial and political considerations rather than points of law was the criteria for securing his conviction. The question now would be, has the Malaysian judiciary finally come to its senses and accepted the fact that its reputation and credibility are presently at an all-time low, or will it just perpetuate the injustice done to Anwar? After all, it was one of their brethren, a one-time Lord President (now called Chief Justice), who said that the only reason judges drive around in blacked-out windscreens is because they are embarrassed to be seen rather than for purposes of security. Some of Anwar’s more optimistic supporters would like to believe that this current turn of events is a good sign. “The judges have promised to come out with an honest and speedy decision, so they denied Anwar bail because they know he does not need it since he will be acquitted very soon.” Of course there will always be optimists. After all, even as the Titanic was going to its watery grave there were still those who danced on its deck saying, “Even God cannot sink this ship.” However, looking at the sequence of events, there is more reason to be pessimistic than optimistic. Anwar first applied for bail in the High Court where the Court of Appeal was hearing his appeal against his sodomy conviction and nine-year jail sentence. The Court of Appeal, however, said it had no jurisdiction to hear the application since Anwar had lost his appeal. He was advised to apply for bail at the Federal Court when he brings his appeal there to be heard. And Anwar did just that. He brought his appeal to the Federal Court and applied for bail there as well. Now the Federal Court says it too does not have jurisdiction to hear the application and Anwar should instead have applied for bail at the High Court. Anwar must, by now, be feeling very much like a football. During the course of his recent Federal Court appeal, Anwar’s solicitors informed the court it intended to apply for bail. The court said it would be better if they waited until the appeal hearing ended before applying for bail rather than halfway through the hearing “so as not to confuse matters.” So, Anwar’s solicitors did just that. They waited until the appeal hearing ended before applying for bail. But now the court says that Anwar should not have applied for bail ‘post-appeal’ but should instead have applied for it before the appeal hearing. Well, the Americans have a phrase for this, and it’s called ‘Catch 22’. Now its looks like Anwar will have to sit it out in the Sungai Buloh Prison until 14 April 2009, or 14 April 2012 if he does not get a one-third remission on his sentence -- unless of course the Federal Court does what it says it is going to do, and that is come out with ‘an honest judgment based purely on points of law and the evidence’. Then, expect Anwar to be home before Christmas.
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