The decision to give the green light for the rally today is just one more propaganda act by the government
Toady will make history, for more reasons than one. It is that the justice system will reveal its ‘true colours”. Will the decision disposed in the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy II trial favour the “truth” or will it be partial, in the interest of the ruling government, Barisan Nasional?
As it stands, the BN leadership has spared no effort in character assassinating Anwar and “sealing” his political fate. Humiliation, condemnation and the butt of jokes, Anwar has been at the receiving end of the BN brutality for a long time now.
Whether justice i.e. the truth prevails tomorrow or otherwise, the rakyat have long understood the manipulation of the the judiciary, ever since Anwar, 64, once the country’s former deputy prime minister and now advisor of the opposition guild Pakatan Rakyat, was condemned to a life of shame after being accused of corruption and sodomy.
That turn of events left Anwar out of the political scenario for a decade before his return to active politics, winning the Permatang Pauh by-elections on Aug 26, 2008.
There is little point in the lay person playing the guessing game, in deciding which was the scales of justice will tilt, for or against Anwar.
What is crucial is how the “scales” move, with or without the presence of an unseen hand. To hope that the justice system will perform its duties diligently is optimism at its best.
For now, the so-called cooperation and understanding extended by the police by allowing for the ’901 Free Anwar’ rally at the Jalan Duta Court Complex tomorrow is but one of the many guises employed by the BN in trying to convince the people that it has turned over a new leaf post the July 9, 2011 ‘Walk for Democracy’ rally held by election watchdog Bersih 2.0.
Keeping the BN track record in mind, it is hard to believe that this coalition has truly mended its way.
The decision to give the green light for the rally tomorrow is just one more propaganda act by the government, of wanting to be seen as having been fair and accommodating to such a request.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohmad Salleh stressed that police are allowing the gathering in the spirit of the new Peaceful Assembly Act. He however warned that any person who commits any offence will be brought to book.
PKR (led by Anwar’s wife Dr Wan Azizah Ismail) meanwhile hopes to make good its promise that the ’901 Free Anwar’ rally will be a peaceful one.
As far as PKR deputy president Azmin Ali is concerned, Pakatan Rakyat holds a clean track record of organising peaceful assemblies and they have every intention of keeping their record clean.
It’s all about ‘V’ for justice
Tomorrow will go down in history as the day when justice truly emerged victorious, where no innocent party ends up being shortchanged and persecuted for all the wrong reasons.
The sodomy trial faced by Anwar has without any doubt slapped him with many mental, emotional, physical and professional setbacks. He has ‘been to hell and back’, metaphorically speaking. The attack on his dignity and his family were nothing short of being vicious. Why?
One reason is the imbedded fear and insecurity facing BN which is only too aware of the momentum the Anwar factor has gained.
The sleepless nights facing prime minister Najib Tun Razak who is also BN chairman, speaks volumes of his worry that Anwar remains his biggest threat, in spite of all the condemation heaped on the Permatang Pauh MP by the BN and Umno leaderships.
Tomorrow’s court ruling wil determine whether the justice system has been molested to fulfill the gratification of unscrupulous parties.
At the end of the day, the Jan 9 court decision is about how the justice system prosecutes and persecutes an opposition leader, with no fear or favour or otherwise.
When Bersih 2.0 chairperson S Ambiga said tomorrow’s verdict on Anwar’s Sodomy II case would also be a judgment on the ‘whole justice system’, she spoke the bitter truth that the BN government will beg to deny.
She also pointed out that whatever the court decision may be, it would however be a loss for BN.
“As a lawyer, I am very concerned about the way in which this case has proceeded particularly in the light of the evidence produced. Furthermore it is my view that BN has everything to lose no matter which way the decision goes….if Anwar wins, they lose, if Anwar loses, they lose.
“But above and beyond that, is the manner in which our system of justice is used to bring down political opponents. We will know whether they succeed yet again when the judgment is handed down.
“This judgment will not only be about Anwar. It will be about the whole justice system,” she told FMT yesterday.
Such concern coming from a respectable award-winning lawyer who despite the threats facing her, has refused to bow under pressure and continues her fight and struggle towards a ‘clean’ nation, politically-speaking.
If BN has made punishing Anwar using the justice system as a way to serve its grudge against the opposition leader, it is the biggest folly the BN alliance will ever make.
The price to pay for that is going to be huge, as the past has revealed. The question is, dare BN be humble enough to accept defeat or make amends without putting Anwar on the guillotining Anwar.
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