The allegation of an affair between deputy public prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif and Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan cries out for an open inquiry and should not have been investigated and closed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, veteran lawyer Karpal Singh said today.
Responding to the findings of the Attorney-General’s Chambers in clearing the two from having an affair, Karpal said the Attorney- General cannot be judge and jury in his own cause.
“It is elementary that there should been an independent investigation by a body with no affinity to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. The position cries out for transparency,” he said in a statement today.
He added that the findings of the AG Chambers raised more questions than answers.
Farah Azlina was part of the prosecution team in Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial while Saiful is the alleged victim.
Yesterday, in response to Karpal’s question in Parliament on the matter, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Razak said the AG’s Chambers had probed the matter and found that the allegation to be “baseless” and that there was no “concrete evidence” to suggest of a love affair.
Following the allegation, Nazri said Farah Azlina was removed from the prosecution team to prevent any further allegations of impropriety and to maintain the prosecution’s credibility.
Karpal, who is Anwar’s leading lawyer in the case, however, was not satisfied with the explanation given by Nazri on the alleged affair.
No public denial
He noted that there had been no public denial by both Saiful and Farah Azlina on the affair. Neither have they denied in court under oath despite the opportunity being there, he added.
He also asked as to why Farah Azlina was reassigned to a different section within the AG’s Chambers if there was no basis to the allegation.
“Why should she have been punished through this move if she was innocent of any impropriety?” asked Karpal.
He said that if an affair between the pair existed, then questions arise as to their criminal culpability in a Syariah Court.
“There are provisions in Muslim law for such impropriety, including punishment for zina, one of the most serious crimes known in Islamic law,” he said.
He said the unprecedented allegation “cried out for an open inquiry” so it will not be emulated by others in the future.
The allegation first surfaced in Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s Malaysia Today portal.
Anwar had attempted to strike out the sodomy case in view of the allegation, but the High Court ruled that Farah Azlina’s role was “limited” and she “had no access to any investigation papers, including any documents”, which meant that there was no abuse of power.
The ruling by Judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah was made despite noting that the prosecution team had not answered the defence’s affidavit concerning the alleged affair.
He had also refused to call Saiful and Farah Azlina to answer the allegation about their “affair” during the trial.
International response is starting to filter in on news that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government has decided to appeal the acquittal of political arch rival Anwar, the Opposition Leader, who was found “not guilty” by a High Court judge last week. 
Fair and impartial, says Saiful
Phil Robertson, Deputy Director of the Asia Division, Human Rights Watch was among the early bird to condemn the Najib administration for its latest flip-flop.
“The trial court gave the government a chance to bow out gracefully from Anwar’s politically motivated prosecution. It’s very unfortunate that they didn’t take it. This decision means the citizens of Malaysia will be further subjected to the more political machinations in the courtroom as the government perpetuates this travesty of a trial for a crime that should not be a crime in the first place,” Phil said in a statement.
Persecution, not prosecution
Meanwhile, Anwar’s lawyer Sankara Nair said he has yet to be notified of the decision. He slammed the move as an obvious case of “political persecution” and not prosecution.
“I have not been formally notified by the prosecution. However if it is true, then it is most regrettable and atrocious- given that the trial judge has stated succinctly, in his verdict that the crucial evidence was “tampered”,” said Sankara.
“I have not been formally notified by the prosecution. However if it is true, then it is most regrettable and atrocious- given that the trial judge has stated succinctly, in his verdict that the crucial evidence was “tampered”,” said Sankara.
“Hence the substratum of the prosecutions case is fatally demolished,rendering any appeal, no matter how many times, an desperate act in futility. It appears to be a case of political persecution of Anwar and not prosecution.”
As for Anwar himself, he has said it was the Attorney-General’s right to appeal but warned that there should be no government or political interference. However, most Malaysians would tell him that this may be beyond the manipulative Umno, Najib’s party which has ruled Malaysia for the past 5 decades.
Judge conceded key DNA evidence was compromised
Malaysian prosecutors had filed the appeal papers at the High Court criminal registry at 4.30pm on Friday, January 20, according to criminal deputy registrar Halilah Suboh.
On Jan 9, Anwar was acquitted on a charge of sodomising his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan due to a lack of corroborative evidence. Judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah delivered his decision to a packed courtroom, as more than 10,000 supporters gathered outside the court building to show their support for the charismatic and popular leader.
“After going through the evidence, I cannot be 100 percent certain that the evidence could have been compromised. Hence, the court is reluctant to convict on such corrobaration of evidence from SP1 Saiful. The court does not exclude the possibility the (DNA) samples were compromised. Therefore the accused is acquitted,” Mohd Zabidin told a stunned courtroom, that took a second before it burst into euphoria and loud cheering.
Najib’s weak leadership and global attention
The decision was praised throughout the world and Najib’s latest inability to stay the course, giving in to hardliners in his Umno party such as former premier Mahathir Mohamad, is bound to increase the negative impression of Malaysia that has furthered worsened during his watch. The move will also underscore Najib’s weak hand on the government as well as his inability to provide political stability and jump-start the already slowing economy.
“Anwar, I have just heard the news of the acquittal. Congratulations. There was never any doubt of your innocence. That it is confirmed for the world to see is a wonderful thing. We are all so very happy for you and for Malaysia,” wrote Paul Martin, the former prime minister of Canada.
Indeed, there is more than meets the eye in the sodomy charges pressed against Anwar, who has blamed Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor of hatching the plot together with complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan so as to derail his political comeback. Given the flimsiness of the evidence, experts never expected Najib to take the case to the trial stage, but he succumbed to pressure from the Umno right wing, especially Mahathir, who still harbors a deep hatred for Anwar.
Pundits say Mahathir is also concerned that Anwar, his former deputy and who nearly toppled him in 1998, knows too much of his past wheeling-and-dealing. If not imprisoned, chances are high Anwar will become the next prime minister of Malaysia, leading the Pakatan Rakyat opposition to victory in general elections that must be held by April 2013.
Fair and impartial, says Saiful
Anwar was charged on Aug 8, 2008 under Section 377B of the Penal Code with committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature. He was accused of sodomising Saiful at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, on June 26, 2008. If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to 20 years.
Meanwhile, in an immediate response, Saiful said the appeal shows that the Malaysian legal system was fair and impartial.
“My family and I would like to state that with the filing of the notice of appeal, my right to complaint as stated in my 2008 police report has been heard, and (went) through the proper process of justice all the way to the High Court. In accordance with the law (it) has been achieved,” he said in a blog posting.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said today the decision to file an appeal against the High Court’s decision to acquit and discharge Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was based on evidence and the law.
It stressed that in making any decision, the department acts solely on the evidence and in accordance with the law, not influenced by any emotion or parties.
“The decision to file this notice of appeal will enable this department to obtain the full written judgment of the learned judge and the record of the proceedings from the High Court; and accordingly will be able to appreciate the grounds considered by the learned judge in arriving at that decision,” it said in a statement.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Jan 9, acquitted and discharged Anwar on a charge of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008.
Justice Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mat Diah ruled that the court found the complainant’s testimony uncorroborated.
He also said that the court could not be 100 per cent certain that the integrity of the DNA samples was not compromised.
The appealed against the verdict was filed yesterday.
Jan 20: The last-minute filing by the Attorney General’s chambers to appeal against the January 9 acquittal of parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim of the sodomy charge has been described as politically motivated.
“When the appeal was made, I thought it was more of a political decision.
“Why was the verdict involving Abdul Razak Baginda not appealed? That was a bigger case as it affected the country’s reputation at the international level,” said PAS lawyer Hanipa Maidin (pic), referring to the murder trial of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu involving Razak, the former aide to prime minister Najib Razak, and two others.
Razak was however acquitted in October 2008 of the murder charge without having to enter defence, while the two others had been found guilty and sentenced to death.
The appeal against the verdict today was filed at 4.30pm at the KL High Court criminal registry, following a request from sodomy accuser Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
The High Court had last week acquitted Anwar of the charge citing unreliable DNA evidences as reason.
According to Hanipa, the doubts which arose during the course of the trial should have been enough reason not to pursue the case further.
He warned that such a move could bring disrepute to the image of Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail, who he said was already perceived as a tool of Barisan Nasion
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Empowered women in control of household decisions could be losing out on sex, says a new study out ofJohns Hopkins University.
Published in the Journal of Sex in October, the researchers asked women about the last date of sexual intercourse as well as who had the final say on decisions ranging from healthcare to household purchases.
According to the Telegraph, the researchers surveyed women from six African countries who reported the more decisions made, the less physical intimacy they shared with their partners.
“The more decisions a woman reported making on her own, as compared to through joint decision-making, the less likely she was to have sex and the longer it was since she last had sexual intercourse,” said lead researcher Michelle Hindin.
The findings showed more dominant and assertive women had approximately 100 times less sex.
But the researchers also noted that this isn’t necessarily incidental for them — it could also be women taking control of their sexual preferences, theDaily Mail reported.
“Understanding how women’s position in the household influences their sexual activity may be an essential piece in protecting the sexual rights of women and helping them to achieve a sexual life that is both safe and pleasurable,” co-author Carie Muntifering told Health24.com.
The location of the women studied may also have played a role, though. Most recently, a study by Florida State University’s Roy Baumeister argued that more equality would lead to more sex. He pointed to a study surveying over 300,000 people from 37 countries which found that countries with a higher gender equality had more casual sex and more sexual partners. In nations with less equality between the sexes, the opposite was true.
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