The Court of Appeal has found Anwar guilty of the sodomy charge and sentenced him to five years jail in a decision that has sent shockwaves across the nation ahead of nomination day (Tuesday, 11 March) for the Kajang by-election (23 March). What are the chances of Anwar being eligible to contest now?
He was granted a stay pending appeal with bail set at RM10,000.
I spoke to two senior lawyers. One of the lawyers said Anwar should be eligible to contest with a stay of execution pending appeal.
But the other was not so sure, pointing to Azmin Ali’s conviction for perjury in 2001, which effectively barred him from participating in the 2004 general election. (He was later acquitted.) Much would depend on the Election Commission, he said.
Remember the case of Irene Fernandez, who in 2003 was found guilty in a magistrate’s court of publishing false news. She was sentenced to a year’s jail but obtained a stay of execution pending appeal. When contacted, she said she did not contest in the 2004 and 2008 general elections due to uncertainty over whether her candidacy would be accepted by the Election Commission on nomination day despite the stay of execution. It was only towards the end of 2008, more than half a year after the 2008 general election that the High Court acquitted her.
According to Aliran which issued an immediate response this evening:
The guilty verdict was delivered late and Anwar was sentenced to five years jail; nevertheless, a stay of execution was granted pending appeal with bail of RM10,000. This may rule out Anwar from filing his nomination papers on Tuesday, 11 March 2014. But if Anwar presents the nomination papers on the day, which he is entitled to under the constitution, the Election Commission may not exercise its judicial discretion to allow him to contest.
Read Aliran’s full reaction to the decision, in which Rama urges voters to show how they feel about the BN government at the Kajang by-election on 23 March. Yes, Kajang voters should express how they feel about all this at the ballot box.
Ahead of Anwar’s appeal on 6-7 March 2014, Aliran and PKR’s N Surendran had expressed concern about the “unholy haste” in which the Court had fixed the dates for the appeal, just a week after case management.
Final word goes to Anwar: “What Malaysians are fighting for isn’t just about me, but all that is wrong with the system. It backfired before and will backfire again.”
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Frankly, if you think you can weaken the spirit in PR you are damn wrong. The more you try to break us the stronger we will get. We are waiting patiently for your downfall. I am for Nurul or Rafizi to contest in Kajang and become MB of Selangor. Please do not fail us Kajang folks.Show them we mean business and no dirty tricks can stop us marching to Putrajaya in the very near future.
Anwar Ibrahim, we pray for you.
For your family, we give strength & moral support.
As for those who oppress & oppress, their unspeakable deeds will not bring happy ending days but perpetual spiritual suffering.
Anwar … let his daughter Nurul become PM and then he will come back a free man.
End for PR?
Absolute rubbish.
When a social movement gets going, getting rid of one leader will only result in many
others springing up to take his or her place.
Let this 1kleptocracy be warned.
Why is umno so extremely afraid of Anwar ??? Mahathir wanted to (finish off his political career), and now Kangkong pm, why ??? There must be something in Anwar that made Umno shiver !!! They thought if Anwar is gone Pakatan will be shattered, hence Umno will cling to power forever ! Huh! One Anwar is gone, another ten thousands of Anwar will rise up !!! What Umno cares is, it retains power and continues to milk the country’s wealth never mind our court be made a laughter of the world, who cares… Seteruk teruknya we are still the king… Read more »
Will this be the end for PR ???
Definately NO,no,no. PR will be more stronger and stronger every time Bn throw their dirty tricks at PR. We are getting more and more angry with Bn dirty tactics. I will never again vote for BN.
I normally do not use foul language.
But this regime is a really @#$!@#$*&^%$ regime !
He win and lose. The court is fair. He has obtained stay of execution
Really, Anil, you need to ask this question: Will he be able to contest in Kajang?
I think we all know where this is heading.
This is really a time of sadness more than anything else because fairness and justice were shoved aside in the name of politics. Anwar cannot be killed off at the polls but he can be killed off by the courts in the kind of political climate that we have now, As such, how much can Anwar rely on the Federal Court to do its duty fairly and justly? That Anwar or anyone in Malaysia is confronted with this question is enough to make one feel a cold numbness in the pit of the stomach.
Anil, there is a saying:
“The more you take away, the larger it becomes”.
This is the moral consequence that may UBAH the course of Malaysia’s destiny.
God Willing.
Where are we heading?