TERIMA KASIH MATRIX
Anwar's
sex trial postponed pending appeal on Mahathir testimony
KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (AFP) - The sex trial of Malaysia's ex-deputy premier
Anwar Ibrahim was Thursday postponed indefinitely pending the outcome of his
final effort to make Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad testify.
Anwar is appealing against the ruling by high court Justice Arifin Jaka on
April 21 that Mahathir need not appear as a witness in his sodomy trial.
On Thursday, the court register announced that the trial would be postponed
pending the hearing of Anwar's application to the appeal court to reverse
Arifin's ruling.
Anwar, sacked by Mahathir in September 1998 and subsequently detained, says
he was framed by a high-level conspiracy because he intended to expose
corruption and was seen as a political threat to the premier.
He says the premier can give crucial evidence to prove his innocence. But
Arifin ruled there was "not an iota of evidence" that Mahathir was
involved in any conspiracy.
Lawyer Pawancheek Marican said the defence had filed a notice of appeal and
was working on a petition stating grounds for challenging Arifin's ruling.
A hearing date will be fixed once the petition is filed, he said, adding
that the appeal case was not expected to take long as it focused on a narrow
issue.
On Saturday he lost his appeal against that conviction and sentence but
denounced what he called "political persecution" through the courts.
Anwar vowed to challenge the decision in the country's highest court.
The United States on Monday voiced concern that Anwar had lost his appeal,
saying many had found his previous trial flawed and that he had not been given
a "fair opportunity to defend himself."
Had Mahathir been forced to appear, it would have been the first
face-to-face encounter between the two since Anwar was sacked.
The former deputy premier was jailed for six years in April 1999 for
abusing his official powers to cover up allegations of sexual misconduct.
If convicted of sodomy, Anwar faces up to 20 years in jail.