FAC News - Saturday, April 19, 2003 8:16 AM

Major setback in restoring public confidence in the rule of law: Kit Siang

The National Chairman of the Democratic Action Party, Mr Lim Kit Siang, said that the rejection of Anwar Ibrahim's appeal against his sodomy conviction and nine-year jail sentence by the Kuala Lumpur Appeal Court is a major setback in restoring public confidence in the rule of law and is a brutal reminder of the power and stranglehold of the hangover of the past.

“The entire crowd at the Court of Appeal this morning was shocked and disappointed by the rejection of Anwar Ibrahim's appeal against his sodomy conviction and nine-year jail sentence, although they were not completely surprised by the outcome,” said Mr Lim.

“The rejection of Anwar's appeal is a major setback in the restoration of public confidence in the rule of law and brutal reminder of the power and stranglehold of the hangover of the past.”

“After the Court of Appeal, Anwar told me that my comment had been proven right - and I assume he was referring to my response in the AFP report yesterday to the question whether Anwar was still a threat to Mahathir” "

Mr Lim had told AFP, “He must be a threat to Mahathir and his party, after all, if he is not a threat, they should let him out.”

“With the Court of Appeal rejection, and the failure of Anwar to walk out of court a free man today, the hopes of many that Malaysia can begin to return to normalcy in our national life - where Malaysians can look forward to substantial progress to be progressively made in restoring justice, freedom, democracy and good governance in Malaysia - have also been crushed,” added Mr Lim.