VOXPOP 'Umno has put itself in a no-win position with Sodomy II - imprison Anwar and Pakatan will ride on a massive wave of the rakyat's anger.'

Anwar verdict: Brace for far-reaching aftershocks

Sarawakian_3ff9: Knowing how vengeful and incredibly stupid Umno is, the outcome of the Sodomy II trial is a foregone conclusion.

After all the effort to use Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the police, judges, doctors and chemists to get Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, PM Najib Razak will not back down because to him losing the election is less important than losing his face.

L Joy: Guilty or not guilty, Najib has already done the damage to Umno and himself because if Anwar is to be found guilty, most will accuse Najib of probably influencing the judge to make that decision.

If the judge ever finds Anwar not guilty, it can only be because the judge can't bring himself to make such a stupid decision. Either way, Najib is dead. Period.

Astraltroubleshooter: The PM is in a fix. If DSAI (Anwar) is convicted and sent to prison, the election will result in a thumping victory for the Pakatan Rakyat.

On the other hand, if DSAI wins the case, which should be in accordance with the evidence produced in court, then Najib will still be finished as in the minds of a vast majority of Malaysians, he is the one responsible for the political persecution of DSAI and for being a pathological liar as seen on numerous occasions.

Malaysiasakit: Umno has put itself in a no-win position with Sodomy II - imprison Anwar and Pakatan will ride on a massive wave of the rakyat's anger towards BN.

Free Anwar and he will mount a strong challenge for PM-ship. Heads I win, tails you lose.

Fencesitter: Najib's government is in deep trouble. The initial plan to charge Anwar was to distract the opposition leader's attention but that did not work, and now it is difficult to reconcile.

Put Anwar in jail and history is going to repeat itself where Sodomy I led an ex-PM to step down. Freeing Anwar will give Najib an even bigger headache.

Onyourtoes: Why are we assuming that the people will make their decisions based on cosmetic reforms?

If Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is charged tomorrow, are we saying the fight against corruption has taken root?

If the government allow another street protest, are we going to assume that reform and liberalisation have finally taken their rightful place?

Whether Anwar is found guilty or not, it will not alter the real issues confronting this country. Indeed, whether Anwar is sent to jail immediately (if found guilty) is beside the point.

The threats to democracy and good governance would not have changed; the endemic corruption and abuse of power would not have receded.

Stop thinking that a guilty verdict and jailing Anwar would only work against Umno-BN. I am sticking out my neck; I think I know exactly what the verdict is going to be and how the verdict is to be carried out.

'Dr M's administration took 38 World Bank loans'

SusahKes: Really Dr Mahathir Mohamad, sometimes I am tempted to believe that you could even give the fictional Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde a run for his money, because we are simply never too sure just which part of your mind was speaking

Practically much of the Mahathir's years were years of paradoxes; but the motivation for such Machiavellian chicanery is not too hard to fathom; Mahathir, after all, is the consummate politician - it's all about power and survival.

Anyway, we are used to this. There is nothing much that Mahathir can do these days to convince us otherwise, of his much tainted record in public office. What we are now waiting, with bated breath, is for the day when such shenanigans are brought to face the scale of justice.

ONG: I don't know whether or not Mahathir personally wrote to the World Bank for loans. But the fact that many projects during Mahathir's time was funded by World Bank loans is on record and cannot be denied.

CAT Lover: I agree that taking up an IMF (International Monetary Fund) package and World Bank loans are two different things. Yes, Malaysia is an IMF member, but it did not take up an IMF package during the crisis of 97/98 (or any other time, although IMF has ‘helped' Malaysia a few times, I just read).

In 1998, still under Mahathir/Anwar, the country did take up a Economic Recovery and Social Sector Loan Project from the World Bank, but that was only US$300 million and paid off a year later.

Yes, Mahathir is a hypocrite for calling Anwar an agent of the US, and calling the IMF names when the country itself is a member.

But, no, this is not a smoking gun from Anwar's mystery boxes. It doesn't matter - there's enough hanky-panky in the country that PKR has highlighted.

And let's face it: Anwar is likely to be jailed again based on evidence that is a whole lot thinner than this argument about foreign assistance.

Retnam: Mahathir lied? So what is new?

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