NAJIB, ROSMAH AND THE JUDGE: ARE THEY REALLY IRRELEVANT OR IS THIS BN'S MALAYSIA?

There was good reason Anwar Ibrahim wanted the Sodomy II presiding judge disqualified. He was too junior and green to handle a court case of Sodomy II’s magnitude. And rightly so, since he was brought in by a system so compromised by the Executive branch of the government, it is an embarrassment.

This can also be said about the court's dismissal of a summons to Prime Minister Najib Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor to appear as witnesses in the sodomy trial that Anwar has accused them of 'rigging'.

The reason given was that Najib and Rosmah would not be able to provide relevant information concerning the Sodomy II accusations. Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah agreed with Najib and Rosmah in that they were not relevant. "Hence, I allow the applications and order the trial to continue," said Zabidin.

The response from Anwar was one of dismay. "We have evidence to support that the duo was (involved). Our position is that this was planned. Najib should come and deny it. The prosecution offered Najib and Rosmah as witnesses. If they are not relevant, why were they offered?" Anwar told reporters later.

Prosecution would offer 'irrelevant' witnesses?

Yes, it was the prosecution who offered the duo as witnesses and yet it is the same prosecution that seems adamant to protect Najib and Rosmah. The argument that the duo is not relevant to the Sodomy II trial is simplistic and dead-wrong.

The very nature of Najib’s initial denial and subsequent retraction when confronted with the question, if he knew Saiful Bukhari Azlan, reeks of conspiracy. What was discussed by Najib and Saiful, days before the latter made the police report? What was the nature of the relationship between Saiful and Najib to the extent the former could so easily meet Najib, who was already the deputy prime minister, at his residence to discuss ‘scholarship’ matters?

Yet, the questions go deeper than just this. What are Najib and Rosmah hiding from public view? Why the allergic reaction to appearing in court? And to compound it all, the courts seem to be colluding with the duo in their wishes to stay away.

Judicial rot

This is the biggest mystery yet and it shows the expanse of the rot within the judiciary. The courts of law are supposed to be independent of the Executive branch of a government. It is the bastion of hope for those who are unable to defend themselves, yet in Malaysia, the courts have made it a standard prosedure to kow-tow to those in the elite section of society. The courts can be bought or bent or pressured and this is exactly what happened in the Sodomy II case.

Should not testimony be first heard and then deemed relevant or irrelevant by the judge? Yet, Mohd Zabidin deemed the testimony irrelevant before even hearing it nor questioning it? Should not the judge have acted in the interests of the public and made Najib and Rosmah, as citizens of Malaysia, defend their innocence in a court of law? It is for the courts to settle once and for all whether the duo is innocent or guilty, but only after their testimony is heard.

In this regard, Mohd Zabidin reacted unprofessionally and brought further embarrassment to an institution that should always put public interest in the foreground, ahead of all other interest. Otherwise, civil society in Malaysia might as welll be dead and gone. It would all be a sham.

Look at the Wall St protest

The very institution that should the cornerstone of liberty and citizen rights is compromised. There are double standards - practiced and enforced by those placed in the seats of justice by an equally corrupt Executive. And the rot is not merely in the judiciary but also within every arm of the justice system.

Why is it that the US Wall Street protest has been going on for days, yet the tear gas canister count still stands at zero? Here in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, on July 9, a peaceful march in support for free and fair elections was attacked by the police who fired 262 tear gas canisters.

They Malaysian police also shot acid water from water canons and threw smoke bombs at their countrymen, who were unarmed and sat on the ground to show they came in peace. This is also the same police force that gave Anwar Ibrahim the black eye in the first Sodomy trial in 1998, what more horrors are in store for Anwar once judgement is passed for Sodomy II.

Time to punch out Najib and Rosmah

It is clear, the rush to keep Najib out of court coincides with the coming 13th general election. Yes, keep Anwar tied up with the Sodomy II trial, call snap general elections, thus ensuring that Anwar and his Pakatan Rakyat coalition are handicapped in contesting.

This is the ultimate goal of Sodomy II, eliminate Anwar from the political landscape at all cost. Yet, Najib has underestimated the nature of Malaysians. Malaysians did not need Anwar to march on July 9, Malaysians did it for Malaysia.

And though Najib thinks he has the upperhand, it will be Malaysia who will finally hand him and wife Rosmah the well-deserved and long-overdue knockout punch.

Source : Malaysia Chronicle