In charging Karpal for what he had said in court as defence counsel for his client, the government has violated United Nations' principles on lawyers, which confer immunity for statements made in court in good faith.
I call on the Government to withdraw all charges against Anwar Ibrahim and to release him on bail pending outcome of his appeal against his first convictions and six-year jail sentences.
Anwar’s trial plunged public confidence in the integrity and independence of the judicary to a new nadir in Malaysian history, and his continued persecution is not going to help the nation to embark on the course of national reconciliation after the great wounds caused to the national psche and unity as a result of the dirtiest general election in the nation’s history.
The claim by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday that the rule of law applied to all people and action would be taken against anyone who broke the law can only evoke the most cynical of reactions, unless and until he could explain why Barisan Nasional leaders, including a Cabinet Minister and a former state chief Minister, enjoy immunity from prosecution despite recommendations from the Anti-Corruption Agency and the Prosecution Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Abdullah had also said that the recent arrests and charging of opposition leaders were not aimed at displaying his strength as the country's number two leader and that it was neither to show that he had changed his attitude and had turned into "Mr Tough Guy" from "Mr Nice Guy" as claimed by a foreign magazine.
Abdullah said the arrests of the opposition politicians were made after the Nov. 29 general election because the authorities were looking for evidence to support the charges against them.
Abdullah’s explanation is very disturbing for it confirms that the Barisan Nasional government is practising the politics of vendetta when it should be initiating a politics of reconciliation.
His explanation gives the impression that before the general election the government had already decided to arrest DAP Deputy Chairman and former five-term MP for Jelutong Karpal Singh, Parti Keadilan Nasional Vice President Marina Yusoff, KeADILan Youth chief Mohamed Ezam Mohd Noor, Harakah editor Zulkifly Sulong and Harakah printer Cheah Lim Thye but the authorities wanted to time the arrest after the general election - presumably not to adversely affect the electoral performance of the Barisan Nasional.
Abdullah’s explanation raises the important question - what were the evidence against Karpal, Marina, Ezam, Zulkifly and Cheah which the authorities did not have before the Nov. 29 general election but which they subsequently secured?
There cannot be a single one of such evidence, for all the evidence against the five were already present well before the Nov. 29, 1999 general election.
(24/1/2000)