PRM slams Bar Council chief for shameful statement on Anwar verdict

comments     Arfaeza A Aziz     Published     Updated

Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) today urged the Bar Council to review its president Mah Weng Kwai's stand on the Federal Court's decision to dismiss ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's corruption appeal.

Party vice-president R Sivarasa told malaysiakini that it was "shocking and shameful" for Mah to have made his comments on the judgment without considering the principle of rule of law and standard fair trial.

"If he had read the judgment, Mah (photo) would recognise what all the international legal bodies like the International Court of Jurist and the International Bar Association had noted. They have all voiced concern on the unfairness in Anwar's trial. This fact is very obvious," he said.

If Mah is unaware of the standard of fair trial, Sivarasa said PRM is more than happy to advise him on the matter.

"Instead of making a statement that could be construed as politically motivated, Mah should study the decision and evaluate it properly on the standard of fair trial.

"As the council's president he should have the courage to disagree with the Federal Court decision which is unjust and wrong," he added.

On July 10, Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Steve Shim and Federal Court judge Haidar Mohd Noor unanimously dismissed Anwar's appeal against his six years' jail sentence for four counts of corrupt practices.

Unwarranted and misplaced

Commenting on the decision, Mah told malaysiakini he believed that the Federal Court would have set aside Anwar's conviction if it had found any improprieties in the proceedings of the lower courts.

He also said Anwar's trial has gone through the due process of law and the people have to respect the court's decision adding that those who do not agree with the decision can use the ballot box to show their discontent.

The Bar Council president's statement was also criticised by Anwar's lawyer, Sankara Nair, who described it as "unwarranted", "misplaced" and "unbecoming" as the former had not read the judgment when he made those remarks.

"It is most unbecoming of the Bar Council president, representing over 11,000 lawyers, to make such a statement arbitrarily without first consulting the council, given that the matter involved fundamental issues such as the independence of the judiciary," said Nair in a press statement yesterday.

Another lawyer, Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff also disagreed with Mah saying that he should recognise that the judgment is also tagged with a bigger issue which is the independence of the judiciary.

"Whether the judiciary is perceived to be independent depends a lot on public confidence. The decision does nothing to further that confidence. The fact that there is even a police report on the matter befits the public's opinion that justice is not seen to be done," he said.

He said it was wrong for Mah to merely accept the decision just because the case had gone through the due process of law without considering the fact that Anwar had not been given a fair trial.

Glimmer of hope

Meanwhile, Anwar's eldest daughter Nurul Izzah expressed the hope that the public will realise that the consequences of the judgment has a far reaching impact as it will also have a bearing on future cases.

"It not only affects my father but every single citizen in the country as it now becomes a precedent on future cases. It also questions the independence of the judiciary," she told malaysiakini yesterday.

Although she is disappointed that her father lost the appeal, she said it has also increased her will to continue fighting for justice for her father and the people.

"Dad had told us not to get our hopes too high considering the power of the government on its tools, including the judiciary.

"Despite that my sister (Nurul Nuha) and I still held on to that small glimmer of hope for that miracle that justice will prevail," said Nurul Izzah.

According to her, seeing their father struggle with the pain (from his slipped disc condition) as he stood up to make his speech against Dzaiddin, hardened the blow.

"I still think it was unfair that the court only gave us two days' notice before giving the judgment. My mom (Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) was not able to make it home in time as she was in Australia with my grandparents to arrange for our brother's education for next year," she said.

She said that her mother returned yesterday morning and the whole family will be visiting Anwar at the Sungai Buloh prison today.

"As soon as I arrived home from the court, I had to explain to my younger sisters (Iman and Hana) that papa lost his case.

"They don't really understand the legal technicalities. They only know that their papa cannot come home just yet," Izzah said.



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