Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor's appeal against conviction for an offence under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) will begin at the Shah Alam High Court tomorrow.

He said his lawyers, Raja Aziz Addruse and Zainur Zakaria, are ready to present their arguments, as they have not heard anything from the court to suggest that the appeal would not proceed as scheduled.

"My lawyers are prepared, and after discussing the case with them, I am confident that we have a good case to persuade the court to set aside my conviction and two-year jail sentence," he said when contacted today.

However, he is unsure whether the appeal will be heard before justice K N Segara, who had allowed his bail application last month.

"No matter who the judge is, I hope to get a fair trial. But at the same time, I am aware that it is a political case. We would be very naive to think otherwise," Ezam said.

Secret papers

On Aug 7, 2002 Ezam was found guilty of breaching Section 8(1) of the OSA for revealing secret documents on alleged abuse of power and corruption by International Trade and Industry minister Rafidah Aziz ( photo, left ) and former Malacca Chief Minister Rahim Thamby Chik ( photo, right ).

He was alleged to have leaked Anti-Corruption Agency's investigation papers regarding the two politicians during a press conference at the Keadilan headquarters in Menara Phileo Damansara three years ago.

The documents stated that the ACA had found evidence of graft and recommended action to be taken against the two. To date, no charges have been filed against Rafidah and Rahim.

Sessions judge Wan Afrah Wan Ismail, now a judicial commissioner, was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment.

Ezam, who was at the time detained without trial under the Internal Security Act, was immediately sent to the Kajang prisons to start serving his sentence.

He was however released last month after he was allowed a stay of execution - an application he made after the expiry of his two-year ISA detention.

More jail time?

In the event that the court dismisses his appeal, Ezam said he would seek a continuation of the current stay of execution pending an application to the Court of Appeal.

He said there would be no reason for his request to be turned down, considering that he has not done anything to suggest that he would jump bail or breach any laws.

Ezam is also aware that he may have to go back to prison immediately - he is short of two months of completing the two-year sentence with one-third remission for good conduct - if his requests for appeal and stay of execution are rejected.

"But it must be noted that the law does not say that I have to go back to square one if the conviction is affirmed. I was advised that it is within my right to ask to serve only the remaining time and nothing more than that," he said.

He also felt that the promotion of judges who had heard jailed ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's trials and appeal has somewhat cast a pall on his hope for a fair trial.

"We have always been skeptical about the independence of the judiciary and the promotions have more or less confirmed our skepticism. But we pray for the best," he said.