Speaking outside a packed courtroom and cheered on by 250 supporters shouting “justice for Malaysia, justice for Anwar” the 62-year old former deputy premier said the presence of so many foreign embassy staff in court showed the “interest, concern and disgust” the new trial was attracting.
Anwar’s trial represents a huge political challenge to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is attempting to rebuild the coalition that has ruled Malaysia for over half a century after record losses in elections in 2008.
An upbeat Anwar told reporters after the court hearing was adjourned until the afternoon that his lawyers intended to subpoena Datuk Seri Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, alleging that they were involved in what he said was a conspiracy to jail him.
Earlier, Datuk Seri Anwar, accompanied by two of his daughters and his wife, told reporters the prosecution was down to “the machinations of a dirty, corrupt few”.
The government insists it is not involved in the trial and no one was immediately available for comment on Anwar’s charge.
Najib, who has been premier since April last year, also needs to defuse a religious row that has damaged the government and win back foreign investment that fled Malaysia at a faster rate than almost any other emerging market economy in 2009.
Inside the court, diplomats from the United States, European Union, Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom observed the proceedings and 70 people squashed onto benches in the public gallery, including Nik Aziz, spiritual adviser to Anwar’s Islamic political allies, wearing a white turban and black robe.
The trial itself was adjourned until the afternoon as Datuk Seri Anwar’s lawyers sought a date to review a higher court ruling, which refused to allow Anwar access to certain prosecution evidence.
Anwar’s previous convictions for sodomy and corruption followed his dismissal as deputy prime minister in 1998, and most international observers said at the time the trials were not conducted fairly, an accusation that haunts the current hearing.
“The evidence will have to be overwhelming in order to move beyond the perception that Najib Razak is using the judiciary to remove a political rival in a desperate and mistaken move to shore up his own position,” said Bridget Welsh, a Malaysia specialist as Singapore Management University.
If found guilty of the charge of sodomising a young male aide in a country where all homosexual acts are criminal, Datuk Seri Anwar, one of Asia’s best known politicians, could face 20 years in jail.
That would effectively end his political challenge to Datuk Seri Najib and the National Front coalition that the prime minister heads and remove a major thorn in the government’s side ahead of elections that must be held by 2013 at the latest.
Datuk Seri Anwar called for a strong turnout for his first day in court on his Twitter account, while his accuser Saiful Bukhari Azlan also said on Twitter he would be in court.
Outside the court, pamphlets supporting Saiful were scattered on the road, denouncing Anwar for not taking an oath on the Koran and for using appeals to frustrate the courts.
Anwar’s lawyers say they cannot defend their client properly without the prosecution’s medical evidence and that access has been blocked by a series of court rulings.
“One of my hands are tied and I am going into this boxing ring,” lawyer Sankara Nair told reporters outside the court. — Reuters
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