FAC News - Monday, March 10, 2003 8:53 AM

High level conspiracy to prevent Anwar’s release

One of Anwar Ibrahim’s lawyers, Zulkifli Nordin, has revealed that there is a conspiracy at the highest level to prevent Anwar’s release from prison on 14 April 2003.

Anwar, who was convicted on four counts of corruption and sentenced to six years jail for each conviction; the sentences which run concurrent; is due for release on 14 April 2003 after a one-third remission on the sentence.

“I have some new information to offer you tonight,” said Zulkifli in his speech at the Pusat Tarbiyah PAS in Taman Melawar, Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday, 6 March 2003. “Some of this information you will like to hear. But there is one you will not like to hear.”

“Anwar Ibrahim is due for release on 14 April 2003 after a one-third remission on his six-year jail sentence,” explained Zulkifli to the packed hall. “The one-third remission is the prerogative of the Director of Prisons and no one else, and is based on good conduct.”

“Normally, the Director would issue the prisoner’s release papers around a week before the due date for release,” added Zulkifli. “However, when I went to the Sungai Buloh Prison on 13 February 2003 to meet Anwar, I discovered that his release papers had already been issued and that the date of release, as stated on the release papers, was 14 April 2003.”

“The Director of Prisons probably suspected that there would be interference from the top so he did not take the risk of waiting until a week before the date of release to issue the release papers. Instead, he decided to issue the release papers two months earlier.”

This caught everyone off-guard. According to the information received, when the Umno leaders discovered that Anwar’s release papers had already been issued, they called a high level meeting to discuss this matter.

The meeting was called by the Acting Prime Minister cum Home Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and, in the meeting, were also the National Police Chief, the Chief Justice, the Federal Court Judges, the Appeal Court Judge, and the Attorney-General.

The Judges confirmed that there is no way Anwar cannot be granted bail while he appeals his second conviction and nine-year jail sentence for sodomy once he has completed his first sentence on 14 April 2003. The only way, therefore, would be to deny Anwar a one-third remission on his first sentence and make him serve an additional two years on grounds of “bad conduct” or “threat to national security”.

“Clearly this is the second conspiracy at the highest level against Anwar Ibrahim,” said Zulkifli.

Recently, the courts decided to fix 18 March 2003 to hear Anwar’s judicial review on his first conviction and six-year sentence, and 24 March 2003 to hear his appeal against the second conviction and nine-year sentence.

Why the court suddenly decided to rush the two hearings, just before the 14 April deadline and while the Prime Minister is out of the country on two months leave, is anyone’s guess, but suspicions are rife that this has all to do with ensuring Anwar does not get out of jail on 14 April.

Anwar, in fact, through another of his lawyers, Sankara Nair, had written four letters to the court, one addressed to the Chief Justice, asking for the date of his appeal to be fixed, but the court had neither confirmed the date nor replied to these letters. Now, suddenly, everything is being done in a rush as if there is no tomorrow.

From what is currently going on, there appears to be, as what Zulkifli Nordin said, another conspiracy being hatched against Anwar Ibrahim. The first conspiracy in 1998 was how to put him in jail. This second one is how to keep him there though he may be eligible for release in about a month’s time.

On 7 March 2003, Utusan Malaysia, a government-owned newspaper, carried a statement allegedly by the “Prisons Department” denying Anwar would be released on 14 April.

“Parti Keadilan Nasional is so sure that former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be released from Sungai Buloh prison on April 14, that they are planning a gathering outside the prison to mark the event,” said Utusan.

“A delegation headed by its Youth vice-chief Muhd Zahid Md Arip handed over a letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai outlining the proposed gathering and their intention to apply for a police permit.”

“The party has also put up banners and posters all over the city ‘announcing’ Anwar’s impending release.”

“However, the Prisons Department denied that Anwar would be released as publicised by Keadilan.”

The newspaper report did not identify who in the “Prisons Department” issued this statement or whether it was the Director who had done so. It also did not clarify whether this meant Anwar would be denied a one-third remission on his sentence or, if he would, whether this meant Anwar would be denied bail while he appeals against his second conviction.

Instead of “clearing the air”, the Utusan report has confused matters further and strengthened the belief that there is indeed a high-level conspiracy to keep Anwar in jail beyond 14 April 2003.

Anyway, if it meant Anwar would be denied bail while he appeals against his second conviction, how would either Utusan Malaysia or the “Prisons Department” (if they had indeed made this statement) know about it when Anwar’s appeal hearing has not even started yet?

Or has the judgment for Anwar’s appeal already been written even before the hearing could start?

(An audio cassette recording of Zulkifli Nordin’s speech is available on the market).