When Anwar Ibrahim was sacked from his ministerial posts on Sept 2, 1998, the media anticipated that the former deputy premier and finance minister would be charged with sex-related offences at the Kuala Lumpur sessions court.

From then on, except on Sundays, reporters and photographers waited at the court building from early morning until late afternoon daily, afraid to miss the beginning of what was to become the country's trial of the century.

The waiting was prolonged by the prosecution of Anwar's adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja and his speech writer Dr Munawar Anees on Sept 19, 1998. They were each jailed six months after admitting to allowing Anwar to sodomise them. (They later claimed that they were coerced into the admission.)

When Anwar was arrested on the night of Sept 20, 1998 at his home in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur, the journalists knew that the waiting would be over soon. Two days later, Anwar appeared before sessions court judge Hasnah Hashim (now a senior registrar at the Court of Appeal) to answer to 10 charges of corruption and "unnatural sex".

Reporters braved the crowd and begged the policemen manning the entrance to allow them into the court room. Inside, a shock awaited those present, for Anwar appeared with a black eye.

After claiming trial, Anwar lodged a complaint with Hasnah alleging that he had been assaulted after being blindfolded on the night he was arrested. He also said he had been denied medical attention for days.

Bail denied

Hasnah rejected Anwar's application for bail on the ground that he was still in detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) 1960 and ordered the case to be transferred to the High Court for trial as requested by the prosecution.

The charges were re-mentioned before Justice S Augustine Paul on Oct 5, 1998 where the prosecution chose to proceed with the corruption charges, while the remaining charges were put on hold.

Before setting Nov 2-14 for trial, Paul created several controversies when he issued a gag order barring public statements on the case, rejected requests by foreign rights groups and legal experts for special observer status, and denied Anwar's second application for bail.

The charges alleged that he had abused his ministerial powers by ordering former Special Branch director Mohd Said Awang and his deputy Amir Junus to procure written retractions from former driver Azizan Abu Bakar and businesswoman Umi Hafilda Ali who had accused him of sexual misconduct.

Anwar who is claimed to have committed the offences between Aug 12 and Aug 27, 1997 at the deputy prime minister's official home at 47, Jalan Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, was said to have given the instructions to escape criminal prosecution.

The charges fell under Section 2(1) of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 22 (1970), which carries the maximum penalty of 14 years' jail or RM20,000 fine or both.

On Nov 2, 1998 reporters had to surrender their identity cards and handphones to the police and go through a metal detector check before being allowed into the court room at the Sultan Abdul Samad building, which is linked by a tunnel to the lock-up.

Unconventional incidents

The beginning of the 78-day trial saw Paul dismissing Anwar's application to throw out the charges on technicalities. Anwar's fresh application for bail (as he was formally released from ISA detention) was also rejected.

Throughout the trial, many incidents occurred that lawyers described as unconventional, as Paul recorded evidence from 23 prosecution witnesses and 22 offered by the defence.

Although Mohd Said and Amir were the main witnesses, it was DSP Abdul Aziz who literally jolted the courtroom, including Paul himself, when he simultaneously shouted and banged the witness stand when asked to demonstrate the method he used to interrogate witnesses or suspects.

Evidence by Azizan and Umi was the source of numerous dramatic headlines for the media as the prosecution set out to prove Anwar to be an adulterous politician. However, what stole the limelight was the mattress (taken from Sukma's apartment) and alleged to contain stains of Anwar's seminal fluids.

The mattress was brought into the court as government chemist Lim Kong Boon testified that DNA tests on the alleged seminal stains on the mattress belonged to Anwar, among others.

Another "unforgettable event" was when Paul jailed one of Anwar's lawyers, Zainur Zakaria, for three months for contempt of court after the latter refused to apologise for submitting an affidavit. It alleged that prosecutors tried to fabricate evidence against Anwar. (Paul's decision was set aside by the Federal Court on Dec 4 last year.)

On Jan 12, 1999 Paul allowed the prosecution to amend the charges to exclude the sex-related allegations and two days later he expunged the evidence of Azizan, Umi and Lim which he deemed as "irrelevant", a term which soon came into popular use.

At the end of the prosecution case, Paul called for Anwar's defence. The former deputy premier spoke of a political conspiracy and "the use of government's instruments" to frame him.

Conspiracy theory

The defence's request to admit as evidence a transcript of a recorded conversation between Umi and a witness to prove Anwar's political conspiracy theory was also rejected by Paul.

Anwar's application to disqualify Paul from continuing the trial claiming that he was denied the opportunity to present his defence was also dismissed.

On April 14, 1999 Paul ruled that the defence had failed to raise a reasonable doubt on the prosecution case and jailed the minister for six years. The trial saw another controversy when Paul ordered Anwar to serve the sentence from that day instead of from the date of arrest.

Each day of the trial was accompanied by the cry of "Reformasi" from Anwar's supporters who crowded the area surrounding the court building.

That judgment day, known to his supporters as "Black 14", saw many demonstrators arrested for illegal assembly.

On April 29, 2000 former Court of Appeal president Lamin Yunus and Court of Appeal judges Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim (now Chief Judge of Malaya) and Moktar Sidin dismissed Anwar's appeal against the conviction and sentence.

After several adjournments, the Federal Court heard the appeal for several days between Feb 4 and April 2 this year. Following that, Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, who sat with Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Steve Shim and Federal Court judge Haidar Mohd Noor, reserved judgment.