FAC News - Wednesday, April 16, 2003 6:44 PM

Decision on Anwar’s appeal to be delivered on Friday

Anwar Ibrahim’s solicitor, Sankara Nair, has received a facsimile message from the Kuala Lumpur Appeal Court that the decision on Anwar’s appeal against his sodomy conviction and nine-year jail sentence will be delivered at 10.00am on Friday, 18 April 2003.

The appeal, which started on 24 March, adjourned on 10 April with the court reserving its judgment.

Most, including Anwar himself, expected the court to take at least two or three months to come back with its decision. This “sudden” move is therefore quite a surprise as it means the court has more or less made up its mind even as the hearing was still ongoing. Whether this is good news, or the reverse, is left to be seen. But we do not have long to wait though.

Tomorrow night, there will be special prayers (Solat Hajat) at Anwar’s house and moves are being made to mobilise a crowd outside the court this Friday as a mark of support and to show Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that, contrary to what he thinks, Anwar is still relevant.

From lunchtime today, SMS messages were being sent to all and sundry urging them to assemble in front of the court on Friday morning. As can be expected, the police would probably cordon the vicinity surrounding the court and may even refuse to allow anyone through.

Supporters have been told to come to court early, preferably before dawn, to ensure they are not turned back - unless the police set up roadblocks the night before like it did during the previous trials.

Many Malaysians no longer have any confidence in the judicial system and this speedy decision, if it results in an upheld conviction, will only enhance the belief that the judges have been summoned to Putra Jaya and have been instructed on what to do.

Clearly the trial judge who convicted Anwar and sentenced him to an unusually excessive jail term violated the law on many counts and no “normal” court could uphold the conviction. Instead, the judge should be brought up before a tribunal, including the Attorney-General and Chief Prosecutor who used blackmail and threats of the death sentence to coerce witnesses to fabricate evidence against Anwar.