The reactivated sodomy trial against Anwar Ibrahim, dubbed Sodomy II, was never a moral campaign by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s adminstration. It was purely a political and evil attempt at removing the thorn in UMNO’s flesh, and destroying the lynch pin for the political Opposition in Malaysia, and once and for all and restoring UMNO’s hold on the country.This was clearly stated in the latest leaked US diplomatic cable.
The cable was unusual in that it detailed the observations and comments by the US Consulate in Malaysia. In what may be the most non-partisan observation on the case, the cable states the obvious - that the trial is a farce and engineered to put to death Anwar Ibrahim’s political career. In the various scenarios listed within the document, Anwar would be brought down - either as a politician or as a public figure.
When hatred is perpetrated
This shows the extent of hatred the Najib adminstration has towards Anwar and their fear of his influence amongst the Malay electorate. It details the activities of an administration bent on using all the governmental apparatus available to it to destroy a political rival, while at the same time hiding its own skeletons behind a closet of propaganda and skewed media reporting.
"Anwar’s prosecution is not part of a morals campaign. The GOM does not aggressively target non-heterosexual behaviour; if it did so, a recent cabinet minister, senior staff associated with PM Najib and other prominent citizens linked to the government also would find themselves under investigation,” US Ambassador James R Keith had said in the diplomatic note to Washington that was leaked by whistleblower site Wikileaks.
Keith's words sparked an immediate guessing of who this Cabinet minister could be, although most find it quite easy to pin down the former minister, who also comes from Najib's UMNO party and whose sexual preference was once detailed by UMNO's in-house political villianess Umi Hafilda.
That several of Najib's closest aides, one of whom is believed to have undertaken a lavendar marriage with the sister of the Sodomy II complainant, are also gay has also buzzed around town. One Najib's relatives, actively involved in politics, is also believed to be a closet homosexual. Who is this relative and who else in UMNO and BN are gay? Should it matter when Australia's Finance Minister Penny Wong is openly gay? If it does not matter, how would UMNO explain the sodomy case to the public then?
No wonder the need for positive publicity
To Malaysians, such hypocrisy is no surprise. Najib along with Taib Mahmud are already the centre-pieces of an international media scandal, so desperate for an image makeover they were willing to buy positive publicity. The two men made free with tax-payers moneys to fund a UK-based consultant, FBC Media, to produce interviews, reports, material that favor them in a bid to impress the global audience. These actions are now the basis of an enquiry by the BBC into the activities of FBC Media and the basis of CNBC’s decision to axe FBC Media's flagship programme, World Business.
On the local front, Najib Razak has stopped at nothing to paint Anwar Ibrahim as a depraved sodomite in Sodomy II and a sex-crazed heterosexual whooping it up with a female prostitute in the Datuk T sex video. Amid accusations of hypocrisy, Najib has turned what he thought was a blind eye to the homosexual activities of those within his own Cabinet and some say even within his own family. But these may soon turn around and bite him back.
What did Najib and Rosmah say to Saiful
Indeed, Najib's use of Section 377B of the Penal Code against Anwar Ibrahim could well be used against those within his own private circle. He has been accused of colluding with Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the complainant in Sodomy II. The two meetings Najib had with Saiful, possibly either in the presence or with the knowdge of Rosmah, draws obvious suspicion to the PM’s role. Did the three of them discuss Saiful’s police report? Did the first couple connect Saiful with both the Attorney General and the police bigwigs? Did they foment a conspiracy in order to secure Najib's path to the premiership?
Yet, despite such obvious concerns about their roles, both Najib and Rosmah have tried their best to get out of being called as witnesses by Anwar's lawyers. Not surprisingly, both have been chided for their lack of civic-mindedness and social responsibility from the first couple. It further enforces the belief that the PM and wife are guilty to a fault in the engineering of this second round of sodomy charge against Anwar Ibrahim.
The first round was during the time of ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad in 1998, and in the latest leaked cable, it is clear the US believed it was Mahathir who first conjured up the charges so as to stop Anwar's rise. At that time, Anwar was his deputy and wildly popular with the Malay community.
Guilty conscience
Nonetheless, the seeming disregard to the lack of evidence and governmental manipulations in Sodomy II is lost in the hail-storm of propaganda churned up by the local main-stream media. High emphasis is placed on Saiful’s side of the story while the media systematically removes Anwar’s defense, thus only allowing the public a one-sided view of the case.
None of the media questioned how Anwar, 62 at the time of the Sodomy II accusations in 2008, with a well-known bad-back problem was able to over-power and rape a healthy and strapping 26-year-old man. The fact that in the first medical examination, just prior to the latest police report, the doctors at two government hospitals concluded that there was “no conclusive clinical findings” to suggest sodomy.
The second examination at a police-approved government hospital also failed to uncover conclusive medical evidence of penetration although swabs taken were found to contain DNA by the controversial Chemistry Department. In fact, the Chemistry Department found the presence of male semen from at 5 different men inside Saiful's anus. Yet the Chemistry Department's report was accepted as 'evidence' and not thrown out for not explaining or questioning why so many DNA were also present.
Still, Najib and the UMNO-led government are willing to pursue this case to the very end. To them, this is the chance to jail Anwar again. The Sodomy II case was never a moral issue. It was never a case of upholding a moral issue or uncovering the truth. It was just a plain old conspiracy, marked by unprecedented spite and malice.
No wonder then that Najib and Rosmah have refused to be interviewed for their statements on the Sodomy II case. Many of Anwar's supporters say this was a sign of guilty conscience because the two may feel unable to meet face-to-face or see eye-to-eye with their victim.
