Hundreds gather outside Malaysian court as Anwar appeal continues

PUTRAJAYA: Hundreds of supporters and opponents of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim gathered outside court on Wednesday (Oct 29), as the final appeal in his sodomy trial continued into its second day.

Mr Anwar is in the last round of his fight against a ruling that found him guilty of sodomising his former aide Saiful Bukhari - a charge he has decried as politically motivated. Mr Anwar faces five years in prison and a ban from political activity upon release, if his appeal is dismissed.

The hearing has captured the attention of the nation with hundreds of people being drawn to the courthouse in Putrajaya, about 40 minutes outside the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

"We got here yesterday morning and we'll stay until it's over," said Anwar supporter Mohd Ikhwan Nasir, secretary of PKR Bukit Mertajam. "He represents democracy; he represents the very important chance for a fairer and better regime for Malaysia," added Cynthia Tan, a homemaker from Selangor.

On the other side of the courthouse, supporters of Saiful Bukhari wait for justice, as they see it, to be served. "We hope the court will make a fair judgement for the sake of the reputation of this country's judiciary," said Wan Jaafar from the Perak SETIA Club. "I hope after this Anwar Ibrahim will straight away go to jail!" cheered Zaitun Abdullah, a homemaker.

High security has kept supporters on both sides from entering the courthouse area, leaving some of them angry as they try to push through barricades. "Allow them to assemble peacefully and they won't behave in that manner. In fact, allow them, and we will take action against our people if they do misbehave," said Mr Anwar.

For now however, police are insisting the supporters keep their distance for the duration of the hearing, which is expected to go on till Friday or even later. This is in contrast to when the Court of Appeals in March took just two days to overturn Mr Anwar's initial acquittal, and sentenced him to five years in prison.

"(Anwar's other lawyer) Ram Karpal has to deal with a very complicated area which is the DNA evidence so it may take some time," said Sivarasa Rasiah, one of Mr Anwar’s lawyers.

"Going by what is going on, I'm sure the judges will want to take a little bit of time, at least to re-look into the evidence and the submission. But they're giving everybody the fullest latitude to submit, the fullest latitude," added lead prosecutor Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

But Mr Anwar is not taking any chances. He has invited several international legal experts to observe the proceedings and make their own assessments on whether this is truly a fair trial.

- CNA/ec