Kenyataan Media: High Court Ruling on the Menteri Besar of Perak

Alhamdulillah saya menyambut baik keputusan mahkamah tinggi hari ini yang mengistiharkan Dato’ Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin selaku Menteri Besar Perak yang sah. Keputusan tersebut merupakan satu kemenangan buat rakyat dan juga sistem demokrasi di negara ini.

Keputusan hari ini membuktikan bahawa Perlembagaan merupakan undang-undang tertinggi di negara ini. Makanya adalah mustahak bagi semua institusi kerajaan untuk menghormati semangat yang termaktub dalam perlembagaan. Ini termasuklah sistem pengasingan kuasa yang secara jelas menggariskan pengasingan di antara kuasa eksekutif, kehakiman dan juga perundangan. Sejajar dengan itu adalah penting untuk kita mengiktiraf sidang bawah pokok yang berlangsung pada 3hb Mac 2009 serta segala resolusi yang diluluskan pada hari tersebut.

Bagi menyelesaikan kemelut politik di Negeri Perak, Pakatan Rakyat tuntas dengan tuntutan agar Dewan Undangan Negeri dibubarkan serta merta. Ini membolehkan rakyat menentukan kerajaan mana yang memperolehi mandat serta kepercayaan mereka melalui pilihanraya yang bakal diadakan nanti.

Kami yakin rakyat pasti memilih yang terbaik buat masa depan mereka dan negara ini. Sepanjang kemelut di Perak, Pakatan Rakyat menunjukkan iltizam untuk tetap teguh menjunjung Keluhuran Perlembagaan serta konsisten membawa Perubahan.

ANWAR IBRAHIM
KETUA PEMBANGKANG
DEWAN RAKYAT

We welcome the decision of the Kuala Lumpur High Court to declare Dato’ Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful Perak Menteri Besar. He should be reinstated immediately.

The High Court’s decision is a triumph of the Rule of law and affirms that the Constitution is the highest law of the land. Its ruling reasserts Constitutional provisions for the separation of powers and a delineation of the jurisdiction of the executive, legislature and the judiciary. Given this confirmation of the legitimacy of the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak we urge that the resolutions passed by Perak State Assembly convened under the tree in Ipoh on 3rd March 2009 be respected.

After the dark and sinister events that transpired on 7th May in Perak the restoration of justice and of the principles of democracy is long overdue. For three months the people of Perak have endured the unprecedented abuse of power by the BN while the institutions of the state, the police and the mainstream media have conspired to confer legitimacy upon the sham BN administration.

We reiterate our call for the Assembly to be dissolved immediately and for the people of Perak to renew their mandate for their government at the ballot-box.

ANWAR IBRAHIM
LEADER OF OPPOSITION
DEWAN RAKYAT

Malaysia: Charges against Anwar Ibrahim politically motivated

by Amnesty International Malaysia

A male aide, Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, had filed a complaint stating that Anwar Ibrahim had forcibly sodomized him. On 28 July the medical examination report of Azlan by a doctor at a private hospital was leaked to the press. The report indicated that he had not been sodomized. However the doctor advised him to go to a government hospital for a second examination, which he reportedly did later that day.


AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release: 6 August 2008

Sodomy charges against Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim may be an attempt to stop him from running for election to parliament, Amnesty International said today.

"Ten years ago the government used a similar charge of sodomy against Anwar Ibrahim and kept him in jail for six years, the conviction was ultimately overturned," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director. "In 1998, Amnesty International considered Anwar Ibrahim a prisoner of conscience. Today, there are again indications that the government is not playing by the rules in this case."

A male aide, Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, had filed a complaint stating that Anwar Ibrahim had forcibly sodomized him. On 28 July the medical examination report of Azlan by a doctor at a private hospital was leaked to the press. The report indicated that he had not been sodomized. However the doctor advised him to go to a government hospital for a second examination, which he reportedly did later that day. The whereabouts of the doctor are currently unknown.

"We are also concerned about the safety of all the witnesses in this case, particularly Dr. Mohamed Osman, and we call on the government to provide adequate protection to them," Sam Zarifi said.

Amnesty International called on Malaysian authorities to grant bail to Anwar Ibrahim if and when they do charge him. He was previously denied bail in 1998 on "national security" grounds.

"It's fair for the Malaysian people and the international community to judge the Malaysian government's respect for the rule of law based on how they proceed with this case," said Sam Zarifi.

Background

Malaysian police informed Anwar Ibrahim on 6 August that he would be formally charged with "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and should present himself to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court at 10 am on 7 August. Also on 6 August the Elections Commission announced that the by-election for the Permatang Pauh, Penang parliamentary seat, which Anwar is contesting, would be held on 26 August.

Armed police officers wearing masks arrested Anwar on 16 July and held him overnight after Azlan filed a complaint stating that Anwar had forcibly sodomized him. The investigation was reported to have concluded on 31 July.

Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad removed Anwar Ibrahim from his position as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister in September 1998, after disagreement between them on Malaysian financial policy related to the 1997 Asian economic crisis and Anwar's public criticism of the Prime Minister. In April 1999, Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for corruption and was further sentenced to nine years for sodomy in August 2000. The Federal Court overturned the sodomy conviction in September 2004 after Anwar had spent six years in prison. His corruption conviction disqualified him from running in elections or holding political office until April 2008.

Anwar began campaigning on 1 August 2008, a day after the resignation of his wife, Dr. Wan Azizah, from her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

Anwar is the de facto leader of the Pakatan Rakyat (People's Alliance), a coalition of three parties opposing the ruling Barisan Nasional, which has led Malaysia since its independence in 1957. The Pakatan Rakyat won 82 of the 222 parliamentary seats in the March 2008 general elections. This was the first time since 1969 that the Barisan Nasional lost its two-thirds majority in the Parliament, the number required to defeat any veto attempts and to amend the Malaysian Constitution.

Anwar has called for a no-confidence vote against the government by September 16. He has stated that he can get at least 30 members of parliament from the ruling coalition to join the motion, thus ending the Barisan Nasional's decades-long rule.