Gobind Singh Deo has hit out at Sodomy II lead prosecutor Muhammad Shafee Abdullah for blaming Anwar Ibrahim’s incarceration on his late father.

In claiming it was Karpal who ‘cast the first stone” at Anwar by bringing up the allegation in Parliament, the senior lawyer, says Gobind, has hit a new low.

“It is not correct to say Karpal cast the first stone which led to Anwar's downfall,” Gobind ( below ) defended his father in a statement today.

He said instead, the reasons behind his father raising the issue in 1997 laid the foundation for the defence years later.

“It was he (Karpal) who fired the first shot which forced into the open facts and matters which would later become the basis for Anwar's defence of political conspiracy and for all Malaysians to see for themselves the obvious and apparent shifts in positions taken by the key players in our criminal justice system in this case.

“With respect, Shafee hits the lowest of low with this feeble attempt of an attack of his against Karpal after the conviction of Anwar Ibrahim in Sodomy II,” Gobind said.

Shafee had made the remark in a 20-paragraph statement to the media following Anwar's conviction last Tuesday.

The Umno-linked lawyer became the lead prosecutor in the Sodomy II case at the Appeals Court after being appointed by the attorney general in July 2013.

‘Karpal did his duty’

Explaining the history of the case since 1998, the Puchong MP said in 1997, there were allegations made against Anwar that included the sexual misconduct.

Subsequently, a statutory declaration to that effect was handed to Karpal who was asked to raise the matter in Parliament.

In keeping with his duties as MP at the time, Gobind said Karpal did so.

The DAP stalwart had then called for an investigation into the matter and for Anwar to be cleared if there was no truth in the allegations made against him.

“My father said that if investigations found that the allegations against Anwar were without basis and politically motivated, action ought to be taken against those behind it,” said Gobind, who also heads Selangor DAP's legal division.

Gobind’s statement made references to pages 41 to 42 of the Hansard, the official transcript of parliamentary proceedings, dated Oct 22, 1997.

As a result of that, Gobind said prominent personalities came forward to clear Anwar’s name.

“The then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the allegations against Anwar were ridiculous and slanderous. He also went to the extent of saying that " penyebar khabar angin, termasuk mengenai perletakan jawatan Menteri Kewangan 'sepatutnya ditembak' “ (rumourmongers, including those who talked about the finance minister’s resignation, ‘ought to be shot’).

Allegations ‘baseless’, before the sacking

Besides this, Gobind said then attorney-general (AG) Mohtar Abdullah ( below ) publicly stated that the allegations against Anwar were baseless and that no action was to be taken.

“After that, Anwar was dismissed as deputy prime minister and minister of finance.

“And then, all of a sudden, those very charges, be it of sexual misconduct or abuse of power which were just declared to be baseless by the then PM and AG at that time were once again raised and Anwar was charged,” said Gobind.

In the statement, he pointed out that Karpal had explained a few times, even in Parliament, that owing to the events described above, he believed that Anwar was a victim of a political conspiracy and that was innocent of those accusations thrown against him.

“It was Karpal Singh, who by raising the matter in Parliament in 1997, pinned the then PM and AG down to their declarations of innocence for Anwar against allegations for sexual misconduct and abuse of power.”

“This made them look like absolute fools when they later came out to support and pursue charges in respect of the same allegations they had earlier declared to be baseless against Anwar, shortly after his sacking as DPM.”

In doing this, Gobind said Karpal struck at the heart of the matter.

“How could a man be innocent one day and guilty the next and what more, only after a political storm with his master?

“This later became the basis for a defence of political conspiracy, bad faith and persecution against Anwar Ibrahim.

“That is why Karpal defended Anwar against charges of sodomy in 1999 and it is important to note further that Anwar was subsequently acquitted by the Federal Court in respect of those allegations in 2004, essentially proving my father was right,” he said.