Will Anwar Overcome the Barriers to Putrajaya...

In 2008, when asked on the possibility of Anwar Ibrahim becoming the next prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad responded sarcastically, "He would make a good Prime Minister… of Israel". That pretty much sums it all up on what a former premier feels about his own former protégé and the person he himself groomed throughout his years as prime minister. Back then when Anwar was deputy prime minister, who would have the slightest thought that the one who was thought to have been destined to be Dr Mahathir’s successor would turn out to be the most controversial opposition leader the country have ever bred.

By now, Anwar is already the most renowned Malaysian politician. Being the only Malaysian who made it to Time Most Influential People in 2008, Anwar has also masterminded the formation of the Pakatan Rakyat following the March 2008 political ‘tsunami’ of which both changed the political landscape significantly. We can see now that, since the formation of Pakatan with Anwar as its leader, the Malaysian political scene has been divided into two sides – those who wish to stay with the existing system of governance, and those who wish to reform and change the style of governance.

But more recently, the nation is yet again divided in their personal verdict on the sex video that has emerged in April implicating the PKR de facto leader. The only difference this time is even those in the Opposition are divided in their views on whether the sex video is genuine. For some, the video that was exposed by ‘suspicious’ characters by the likes of Datuk ‘T’ (Shazryl Eskay, Rahim Thamby Chik and Shuib Lazim) was artificially created as a plot to end Anwar’s political career. To some of these guys, the sex tape could be an attempt by rival Barisan Nasional (BN) to ‘even out the scores’ since its coalition party MCA’s president himself has a sex video of his own that was leaked out earlier.

Whatever the people’s views are, the police have already confirmed that the sex video footage is a genuine recording. Now it’s up to the Attorney-General to decide whether Anwar has to enter defense or not.

Sodomy II

We are all familiar with the fact that Anwar is no stranger to controversy and the legal procedures involved in alleged sex scandals. That being said, on 16 May, the opposition leader was ordered to enter defense on his second sodomy charge. On June he will once again take the stand as a witness and defend himself against the charge of sodomizing his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Anwar and his team of lawyers led by top counsel Karpal Singh who’s also his DAP partner in Pakatan will be put to the task in raising doubt in the prosecution’s case of which is built on Anwar’s DNA matching that of ‘Male Y’. For Anwar to win the case his legal team must prove that the said DNA sample had been tampered with or it was planted. They also need any alibi saying that he was not there at Bukit Damansara (the vicinity of the condominium where of the alleged crime had taken place) at all material time of the alleged crime. Proving that there was no penetration into Saiful's anus would also be another tough endeavor.

As it is, with Anwar's DNA samples taken from a water bottle, towel and toothbrush accepted as evidence, the opposition leader could easily be found guilty. What he can do to save himself though is to take an oath in front of the judge to deny his relation with the persecution’s case.

Even if Anwar successfully gets Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor to take the stand as witnesses like he had vowed to do nothing much can be gained as these two would be more partial towards the persecution team. However, if it were to happen what it would achieve for Anwar and his defense team is it would sensationalize the case even more and, with that, more attention from the international media. As I said, Anwar is no stranger to this game. He will use the foreign media to his advantage to get sympathy while gaining popularity and, of course, ultimately, get the international community on his side.

This sodomy trial looks to be another lengthy affair. If Anwar wins the case, prosecution will appeal to Court of Appeal and vice versa all the way to the Federal Court – making this court and trial saga reminiscent of the 1998 trial.

Will Anwar’s Pakatan Stand the Test of Controversies?

Anwar also has another thing to worry about on top of the alleged sex scandals. With the general election looming, the Pakatan coalition is showing signs of cracks. There’s a lot of buzz on a possible PAS-Umno merger and with Hadi Awang’s continued leadership this could be a reality. Meanwhile, DAP has totally outshined PKR (and PAS) after its (DAP’s) impressive outing in the Sarawak state election.

With Anwar constantly being the focus of attention, the relevance of Pakatan is to question. For the opposition pact, everything is about Anwar now and this leaves them prone to attacks.

At this juncture, it can be said that the PKR is still recovering from still not healing from the less than impressive outing in Sarawak and the controversial party election which resulted in their loss of Zaid Ibrahim who had left to form another party.

Will Anwar Overcome the Obstacles?

Knowing Anwar, the veteran politician has always remained strong. That is up until now. This time around we can see him losing his cool in press conferences and interviews. His responses to journalists’ tough questions seem to indicate that Anwar, for once, is losing his ground. This could inevitable lead to another low point of his career and prevent him from getting the mandate from the public to run the government.

There is a need for Anwar to strengthen his relation with PKR members all over the country to readdress party issues instead of his personal issues. Sarawak PKR and its chief Baru Bian’s struggle in the NCR land case should also be considered as top priority.

The upcoming general election will be the ultimatum on whether Anwar succeed to pave his way to Putrajaya or leave the scene altogether. There’s no other way for Anwar but to prove his worth and gain support for Pakatan in order to conquer Putrajaya. The clock is ticking for this 64 years old…- Dajmarizal Zolkipli

source:malaysian digest

cheers.