Judge rejects application to call Saiful, Farah to testify........

As expected, the High Court has rejected an application by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to call sodomy complainant Saiful Bukhari Alan and his alleged lover DPP Farah Azlina Latiff to take the stand and clarify their relationship, which could trigger a mistrial .

"Never before in the history of the country or in the Commonwealth has a DPP had an affair with the star witness," lead counsel Karpal Singh had told the court when it resumed on Monday to hear the striking-out application made by the defense.

Anwar had applied for the case to be struck out. There is concern that Saiful’s closeness with Farah enabled him to get special information and tips on how to conduct his testimony so that he could triumph over Anwar. The defense also believes that Saiful’s credibility as a witness has been irreparably damaged by the affair. They say this is not the first time that Saiful has lied to the public and the latest scrape rendered him an unreliable and flawed witness.

Nonetheless, Judge Mohd Zabidn Mohd Diah, who has a record of making decisions that favour the government, dismissed the defense's application. According to him, the evidence produced by the defense was insufficient and based on a sworn affidavit.

"Hence, it is not necessary to call DPP Farah and Saiful," ruled the Judge.


Prosecution fights to keep Saiful and Farah away

The prosecution had also fiercely fought off Karpal's attempts to haul the pair to the witness stand. It insisted that Farah did not have access to any confidential information such as the Investigation Papers as they were held by the Investigating Officer. Only 4 people had copies of the papers and these were Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, Hanafiah and DPPs Nordin Hassan and Noorin Badaruddin.

"The question at hand is whether Saiful had used Farah to get information," Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof had told the court. Anwar has also lodged police complaints against Saiful and Farah for allegedly breaching Section 8(1) and Section 8(2) of the Official Secrets Act 1972. The prosecution's Investigation Papers are deemed to be official secrets.

Did Farah coach Saiful

While the prosecution has denied they knew about the relationship, they have painstakingly avoided denying the existence of the affair.

"This is what worries us. Farah did not tell her bosses about the affair. She hid it from them and we are concerned that if she can sacrifice professional ethics just like that, she may have gone a step further to coach Saiful in the trial so that he can win," Anwar's lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah told Malaysia Chronicle. "It is also telling that the prosecution did not defend her integrity which they would surely have done if the affair was untrue. But they only said she was a junior staff and dropped her from the case."

Anwar, the 62-year-old PKR adviser, was accused of sodomizing Saiful at Unit 11-5-1 of the Desa Damansara Condominium in Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008. He has denied the charges and accused Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor of collaborating with Saiful to frame him and derail his political comeback.

source:malaysia chronicle

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