With former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's second criminal conviction (this time for sodomy), many are again focusing on the apparent bias of the Malaysian judiciary. What is not examined however, is the glaring failure of his lawyers. It is obvious that they, though individually highly talented and experienced, are no "dream team".

Many regard OJ Simpson's famed lawyers as the pre-eminent dream team for pulling off one of the most spectacular courtroom victories in recent times. Simpson was the American football legend accused of murdering his ex-wife and her male friend. Despite the overwhelming physical evidence, including the infamous DNAs, OJ (as he was popularly known) was acquitted.

A comparison between the performances of Anwar's team and OJ's is very illuminating.

Like Anwar's team, OJ's lawyers were all high-priced savvy attorneys and celebrities in their own right. They were caught initially in the massive publicity web that they forgot their primary mission: to defend OJ. They spent more time promoting themselves and their personal agendas rather than defending their client.

Only after OJ took firm control and appointed one of them to be the leader did the team work together smoothly. The lawyers were then forced to submerge their massive egos and concentrate on their client. OJ was able to do that because he paid them.

OJ's team was also totally committed. One, for example, took leave of absence from the deanship of his law school. During the trial all his lawyers were present in court and helped keep a keen eye on the proceeding. When one was cross-examining a prosecution witness and pushing the race angle too aggressively (to the apparent distress of the jurors), his teammates quickly caught on. Thus they were able to quickly shift course before they lost the jury.

The lawyers' end-of-day sessions were devoted entirely to strategy and planning, not playback and catch-up for the absent members. OJ's lawyers were virtually encamped in a nearby hotel during the trial; they were hardly home, again reflecting the intensity of their commitment.

OJ's team spared no expense in securing the most credible experts and private investigators to challenge the prosecution. The defense thus exposed the racist prejudice of the lead investigator and the bungling of the forensic technicians, thus undermining their testimonies.

Uncoordinated

In striking contrast, the performances of Anwar's attorneys were clearly wanting.

Anwar's lawyers were distracted by their many other commitments and cases when they should have focused solely on him. One attorney was simultaneously involved in a murder trial at another city. Even Perry Mason, television's legendary criminal lawyer, defended one client at a time. Another was actively campaigning for the Bar Council leadership. A third was caught in his own tangled mess of contempt citation by the very judge who was trying Anwar.

Not only did that the lawyer become a major distraction, the other attorneys had to now defend him, thus making him useless to Anwar. Yet another was keenly eyeing the then upcoming general election. So many distractions and divided loyalties that Anwar could not possibly be well served.

With the state throwing its massive resources into prosecuting Anwar, defending him would demand maximum commitment and effort. Unfortunately, Anwar's lawyers were freelancing and winging it in court.

In a Malaysian trial where there is no jury, it is the judge who will ultimately render judgment and impose sentence. He is the one the lawyers would have to convince, not the foreign observers in the gallery. It does not take a Dale Carnegie graduate to appreciate that making snide remarks or showing off is not the way to win or influence the judge.

In America where trial is by jury, defence lawyers and prosecutors are especially careful not to antagonise the jurors. The fate of the accused depends on these jurors. In Malaysia, the judge is the jury. Yet Anwar's lawyers went out of their way to antagonise or otherwise irritate the judge. They forgot that ultimately a judicial judgment is a very human process.

Anwar's frequent court outbursts and juvenile tantrums also did not endear him to the judge. In any court anywhere, Anwar would have been cited for contempt. Was he adequately counseled or was this a sly scheme to taunt and embarrass the judge? Even if the judge were to provoke, Anwar's lawyers should not fall for it. Make the judge your enemy and your client will pay dearly.

Expensive lawyers

In a legal defence there are more than just lawyers' fees involved: heavy expenses for expert witnesses, private investigations, and assorted other costs.

If indeed Anwar's lawyers work pro bono , their commitment must necessarily be tempered by their practical consideration for making a living and paying their office expenses. Thus many were distracted by other fee-earning activities.

In his latest court appeal, Anwar discharged his counsel and chose to deliver his own summation. Even the most experienced lawyer has trepidation appearing before the highest court. Yet we have Anwar, a man with absolutely no experience or training in law, brazenly appearing for himself - an unbelievable act of arrogance. Or stupidity.

A loyar buruk (literary ugly lawyer; idiomatically, jailhouse lawyer) may win some coffee shop arguments, but when your very future is at stake, you need a seasoned professional.

In seeking legal counsel, one wants not only the most competent lawyer but also someone fully committed. Anwar would do well to ponder these in his subsequent appeals.

"Seeing It My Way" is a regular commentary by M BAKRI MUSA, a surgeon in Silicon Valley, California and the author of The Malay Dilemma Revisited: Race Dynamics in Modern Malaysia . Bakri's column appears every first weekend of the month. His views on Malaysia can be stated thus: Ours is a diverse nation; we can accept and celebrate this reality or by default, it becomes a liability.

This article is co-written with T MELINDAH MUSA, a Harvard Law School graduate and former law clerk to a United States Court of Appeals judge, and who is now in private practice in Washington, DC.