The main actors in Anwar’s 16-year sodomy saga

The final chapter of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy saga will unfold today and tomorrow in the Federal Court, where he is seeking to overturn the conviction of sodomising his one-time aide, Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

This is the opposition leader's second sodomy trial, and at age 67, it could spell the end of his political career if the apex court upholds the guilty verdict and earlier sentence of five years' jail.

His 16-year saga in and out of courts for sodomy charges has kept Malaysia on a political edge and shone the international spotlight on the judiciary and the executive.

One legacy Anwar's persecutors also probably did not anticipate was the rise of a strengthened federal opposition, as support for him coalesced into the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance, which denied the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) a two-thirds majority in Parliament since 2008.

The Malaysian Insider recalls some of the main actors in this saga.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

The country's longest serving prime minister handpicked Anwar as his protégé and successor, before sacking him on September 2, 1998. In the run-up to the sacking, their relationship soured as both men diverged on how to run the country as it struggled under the Asian financial crisis, and how to run Umno, the lead party in the ruling BN.

Dr Mahathir repeatedly used Anwar’s sodomy charge as justification for sacking him. He also accused Anwar of wanting to "sell" Malaysia to the International Monetary Fund by agreeing to accept its financial reforms during the Asian financial crisis.

He stepped down from power in 2003, some years after the 1999 polls that saw BN lose Terengganu and urban votes due to Anwar's sacking, in favour of Tun Abdullah Badawi, who was seen as a counterbalance to Dr Mahathir's iron grip that was repugnant to younger voters.

But a retired Dr Mahathir continued to wield political influence in Umno, and led a campaign to dethrone his hand-picked successor before the 2008 polls, which culminated in Abdullah's resignation in 2009.

Dr Mahathir, who is patron of Malay rights group Perkasa, also withdrew support for current prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, for ignoring the 89-year-old's views on how to run Malaysia.

Tan Sri Rahim Noor

Tan Sri Rahim Noor was the national police chief at the time of Anwar's fall and led the force against the "Reformasi" demonstrations held after Anwar's sacking.

Anwar was arrested on September 20, 1998, hours after he led a rally of tens of thousands in Kuala Lumpur to call for reforms in Dr Mahathir's government.

Rahim became infamous for assaulting Anwar while in police custody, giving Anwar a black eye that he visibly sustained when he appeared in court on September 29, 1998, to face charges of corruption and sodomy.

Anwar always claimed that Rahim's assault had also severely injured his back.

Reformasi protests grew more frequent and aggressive after Anwar appeared with the bruised eye. For a month, central Kuala Lumpur turned into a battleground as Light Strike Force police units chased protesters through the streets around Dataran Merdeka, the Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman-Masjid Jamek area and Kampung Baru.

Rahim subsequently resigned in disgrace as inspector-general of police, and was tried in 2000 for the assault. He was found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt and was sentenced to two months in prison and fined RM2,000.

He publicly apologised for the incident. Rahim is now a member of Malay rights group Perkasa.

Tan Sri Musa Hassan

Musa was the senior investigating officer in Anwar’s first sodomy trial. He is best remembered for bringing into the courtroom a mattress on which Anwar allegedly sodomised former driver Azizan Abu Bakar.

Anwar accused Musa and the prosecutor at that time, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (now the Attorney-General), of fabricating evidence against him.

Musa (pic, left) became the federal police chief at the time of Anwar’s second sodomy charge in 2008, and retired in 2010 when Putrajaya did not extend his contract.

He is now with anti-crime group Malaysia Community Crime Care Association.

The judiciary

Tan Sri Arifin Jaka presided over Anwar's first sodomy trial in 1999 and sentenced him to nine years' jail.

A lawyer before his elevation to the bench, he retired as a Court of Appeal judge and died in 2011 at age 78.

In the appellate court, the judges who upheld the conviction were Datuk P.S. Gill, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum and Datuk Hashim Yusoff.

All three were later promoted to the federal court. Gill and Hashim have retired but Malanjum is still on the bench and is now the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak.

Anwar was acquitted by a two-one ruling in the federal court. Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad and Tengku Baharuddin Tengku Mahmud were in the majority who allowed Anwar's appeal, while Datuk Rahmah Husin was the dissenting judge.

Tengku Baharuddin (who was co-opted to the federal court for Anwar's case) retired as court of appeal judge, while Hamid, now a Tun, was made chief justice of the federal Court in 2007 and retired the following year. Rahmah, too, retired in 2004.

The prosecutors

The prosecution team during the first sodomy trial was led by the then Attorney-General (A-G) Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah. Upon retirement, he was made a federal court judge.

He died at age 59 in 2003 after nearly a year of being in a coma after an operation to remove a blood clot in his brain.

Also in the prosecution team for Sodomy I were current A-G Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (pic, right), who was then a senior prosecutor, and Datuk Azahar Mohamad who is now a federal judge.

But, Mohtar and Gani did not prosecute in the federal court.

In the second sodomy trial, the prosecution was led by Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden.

Yusof, who was also Solicitor-General 11, went on early retirement in February 2012. There was a furore when Yusof appeared for Anwar as counsel in another unrelated criminal case.

In Sodomy II trial, senior deputy public prosecutor Datuk Noordin Hassan, Datuk Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria and Noorin Badaruddin appeared together with Yusof.

Noordin and Noorin have been made judicial commissioners while Hanafiah is part of the prosecution who will assist ad-hoc DPP Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah in the federal vourt.

The defence

Prominent lawyer Raja Aziz Addruse lead Anwar's defence team during the first trial. Others included Karpal Singh (pic, left), Christopher Fernando, Datuk Sulaiman Abdullah and Datuk Zulkifli Noordin.

Raja Aziz was not in the team when Anwar's appeal was heard in the federal court.

Fernando died in early 2008 and Raja Aziz died in 2011, while Karpal was killed in a road accident in April this year.

Sulaiman will appear for Anwar in his Sodomy II appeal in the federal court.

Zulkifli joined PKR and became its MP for Kulim-Bandar Baru in 2008. He then turned independent and is now a strong critic of Anwar. He was also vice-president of right-wing group Perkasa. – October 28, 2014.


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