FAC News - Thursday, April 17, 2003 1:29 PM

Release Anwar tomorrow: DAP

The Democratic Action Party (DAP) has asked the Kuala Lumpur Court of Appeal to free Anwar Ibrahim tomorrow.

In a press statement released today, Lim Kit Siang, DAP’s National Chairman said, “Tomorrow, the Court of Appeal will deliver judgment on Anwar's appeal against his second conviction and nine-year jail sentence on sodomy, having completed serving the six-year jail sentence of his first conviction on corruption on Monday, 14th April 2003.”

“Under the second conviction and sentence, Anwar will be in jail until 2012 or with the customary one-third remission for good behaviour, until April 14, 2009, followed by a five-year disenfranchisement of his civil and political rights, i.e. until April 14, 2014, when Anwar would be 67.”

“Nothing could do the nation a greater good than a historic decision by the Court of Appeal tomorrow with Anwar walking out of court as a free man, to be followed not by a more fractious and divisive chapter in Malaysian history but a deliberate and statesmanlike process of national healing involving all political forces in the country, based on the principles of justice, equity, freedom, democracy and good governance.”

Lim added that the time has also come for the unconditional release of the Reformasi activists; Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, Tian Chua, Saari Sungib, Lokman Noor Adam, Dr Badrulamin Bahron and Hishamuddin Rais.

“It is not just the overwhelming majority of Malaysians, but even Suhakam (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia) and the Internal Security Act (ISA) Advisory Board, both appointed by the Yang di Pertuan Agong, who do not believe that they are threats to national security and should be detained under the ISA,” argued Lim.

“When the Reformasi activists were first arrested under the ISA two years ago, Suhakam issued a statement after a special meeting on 11th April 2001 calling for their immediate release, declaring: ‘If they have committed any offence, they should be charged and tried in an open court’.”

“On 17 September 2002, after the Federal Court decided in the habeas corpus application of the Reformasi activists  that the police had acted mala fide in detaining them under the ISA,  Suhakam issued a statement calling on the Home Minister to review their ISA detentions.”

“The ISA Advisory Board, on its part, had recommended last December for the release of the Reformasi activists.”

“The claim by Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin in Parliament that the government was not bound by the recommendations made either by the Advisory Board or Suhakam on ISA detentions, without giving any reasons for overriding these recommendations, are symptomatic of both arrogance of power and  a governance which is uninformed either by the principles of accountability or a commitment to the rule of law.”

“Anwar and the Reformasi activists should be restored their personal liberties and be permitted to fully participate in a process of national reconciliation to strengthen the national unity and resilience of a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural Malaysia to better face the perils of an unstable and dangerous post-Saddam world.”