Anwar Ibrahim's acquittal from Sodomy II was the result of a technicality, claimed an editorial in Mingguan Malaysia , the weekend edition of Utusan Malaysia .

In the editorial penned by Awang Selamat, believed to be a pseudonym for the daily's senior writers, said the written judgment had alluded to the act of sodomy taking place.

“The judgement gave a clear message that Anwar escaped punishment because of technicalities, but the core issue was penetration did take place,” wrote Awang Selamat in the the Bisik-bisik column today.

The author wrote that this was a repeat of the Federal Court judgement in 2005, during which the federal court supposedly validated that Anwar was involved in homosexual activities but still overturned the conviction.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had stated it was unsafe to accept the DNA evidence in the sodomy trial and as such it cannot corroborate the evidence related by complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan regarding the incident.

The judge had questioned the integrity of the DNA samples as the expert witnesses from the prosecution could not be reconciled with the expert witnesses brought from the defence.

However, Justice Zabidin also noted that three Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) doctors had concluded that the complainant's anus was penetrated, despite a initial medical report stating there were “no conclusive findings suggestive of penetration to the complainant's anus”.

“Awang Selamat is touched by Saiful’s father, Azlan Lazim who requested the attorney general to immediately file an appeal,” said the columnist, who always refers to itself in the third person.

Retirement plans a 'ploy'

The article also accused Anwar recent announcement of his retirement plans was a ploy to assess feedback from all parties including among opposition leaders.

“So far, the people have given the reaction that they do not care if he wants to retire.

“This includes opposition leaders among DAP and PAS, who have not asked him to reconsider his desire to retire with the exception of one or two people,” wrote the author.

The author also accused Anwar of using this tactic to attract sympathy among the people, while distracting attention away from the many issues supposedly plaguing him and the party.

“This includes the issue of bisexuality, sex video scandals, sodomy case which is being appeal in courts, the issue with Shamsidar Taharin, his support of Israel and the accusations involving an account with RM3 billion,” said the editorial.

Anwar Ibrahim had previously been reported saying he is likely to retire from politics if Pakatan Rakyat does not win the 13th general election.

He told the Financial Times that he will go back to teaching if his party does not get a mandate to govern.