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Saiful-Farah: 'A new precedent has been set'
Published:  Aug 10, 2010 8:45 AM
Updated: Aug 11, 2010 5:09 AM

your say 'The floodgates are now open for the judiciary to have relations with the prosecution, defence or even witnesses in the future.’

Court dismisses application to call Saiful, Farah

Md Imraz Ikhbal: Under the law, for anyone to be convicted of an alleged crime, he/she must be proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and that is categorically distinct from the concept of balance of probability. It follows, therefore, that the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim in this case has to be, beyond reasonable doubt, lawful and accurate both in material facts and prosecuting procedures.

The very fact that there is now an undefended allegation that the DDP had an affair with the star witness leaves the lawfulness of the entire prosecution in tatters. The only options available to the prosecution now is to either deny Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's romantic involvement with Farah Azaina Latif or prove beyond reasonable doubt that Farah was not privy to crucial information on the case.

Opting for the former is far too risky. This leaves solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden with only one other option, which is to try his best on the latter and hope that the judge buys it. All this is assuming that the court is not yet corrupted lest the possibilities in favour of the prosecution is endless.

Cala: To a layman on the street, the moment you find a plaintiff is working hand in glove with the prosecution, he will conclude that justice is something hard to come by to the accused. Surely he cannot be faulted to imagine that there is a grand plan to discredit the accused. Where then is fairness?

P Dev Anand Pillai: I would not be surprised if the court asks: so what if the prosecutor had sex with the main witness? The floodgates will open for the judiciary to have sexual liaisons with the prosecution, defence or even the witnesses in the future. Who knows, with this new precedent set, the next time the syndicates will just provide a lovely girl or a macho guy for the prosecution or the judiciary and the whole case can then be "settled".

Once a upon a time, it used to be hard cash. But now it looks like they have enough, they would now like to be bribed in flesh instead. Again, it is up to the younger generation of Malays - if they say enough to this nonsense which indirectly ridicules their society, then it will stop. But will they rise to the call?

Change agent: This is the great irony - the prosecution in their affidavit-in-reply denied knowing the affair between Saiful and Farah even though it probably happened, but are so adamant that sodomy took place between Saiful and Anwar even though it did not happen.

Swipenter: In this scandalous and mockery of a trial, at every step of the way, the defendant Anwar is denied fair play. But truth has a funny way of revealing itself. It may come from an unexpected source, just like the way the alleged Saiful-Farah affair was exposed.

The attorney-general must be sitting at the edge of his chair pulling at his hairs just thinking whether someone out there has evidence of their alleged affair.

Fido Dido: This is an important international trial. The relationship between Saiful and DPP Farah has to be defined at the stand. By just removing Farah out from taking notes itself indicates a guilty content. Come on, let Saiful and Farah take the witness stand and clear all doubts. Let the arm of the judiciary live once more with full trust and dignity.

Rubystar:

It is a done deal that both of them are innocent. Saiful will again swear on the Holy Book that he does not even know Farah on a personal level, and Farah will swear on the Holy Book that she does not know Saiful on a personal level. The courts have already decided that it must be the truth. And the authorities will prosecute those who bring up the matter again, not these two lovey-dovey birds.

Wira: The implication of an affair does not necessarily mean a compromise of information detrimental to the defence. Remember in Sodomy 1, Azizan Abu Bakar told the court four times under cross-examination that he was not sodomised by Anwar? The judge chose to believe his police report, not his testimony in court.

Albert: "The prosecution in its affidavit-in-reply had rejected claims that Farah and Saiful were privy to investigation papers".

How sure is the prosecution? In the heat of passion, anything goes. Don't they know the meaning of reasonable doubt. And what about the alleged affair? Are Saiful and Farah going to be investigated?

Lover Boy: Umno wants Anuar to be convicted and he must go into the slammer by October. According to my crystal ball, the appeals will be done super-fast and he will be incarcerated latest by early January, latest by February. Look at the crowd that attends Anwar’s ceramahs - a crowd of 5,000 to 10,000 is common. Don’t you think BN is not in a panic mode?

Habib RAK:

"Even if she were in love with (Saiful), she cannot leak evidence and she doesn't question witnesses. So, how would any relationship with him affect our independence?"

Obviously, solicitor-general Mohd Yusof does not understand what a woman can do and will do when she believes that he loves her. Hasn’t Mohd Yusof heard of the phrase "Love conquers all"?

Sarawakian: Everything happened on cue as expected. The script had been written well before hand so no surprise there. The rest is for the actors to follow. Justice my foot.


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