Anwar: Judge has pre-judged me

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has accused Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah of pre-judging the case against him by ordering him to make his defence.

Saying he was not surprised by the ruling and maintaining his contention from day one that the case against him was all political persecution, Anwar said the judge had extended beyond considering the facts as to whether there was a prima facie case against him.

His defence was called, Anwar said, without the relevant facts being considered and not according to the provisions of the law.

"All the ingredients of the charge (are considered) to be factual, acceptable and beyond reasonable doubt. It is as if he wanted to menghukum (to hand down punishment), having decided on conviction," he said.

"This leaves our case in a precarious position. My initial instruction to the legal team was to go all out to defend. I have declared my innocence as this case involves political conspiracy and it involves (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak, his wife Rosmah (Mansor) and (former Inspector-General of Police) Musa Hassan, who have all been named," he added.

The Permatang Pauh MP said the judge and the prosecutors had been informed about the defence application to call the three as witnesses.

"I truly regret the judge's decision today. It is as if he had followed the entire prosecution's submission. The first doctor (Hospital Pusrawi's Dr Mohd Othman Abdul Hamid) was not called by the prosecution, and the owner of the condominium was also not called," Anwar said.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders turned up in numbers in support of Anwar, inside and outside the court.

Among them were PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar (right), former Perak Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin, DAP's Ronnie Liu and M Manoharan, besides PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and vice-presidents Tian Chua and Nurul Izzah Anwar, and Johor PKR chief Chua Jui Meng.

Others included former Land and Co-operatives Development deputy minister Dr Tan Kee Kwong and Port Dickson assemblyperson M Ravi.

Mahfuz echoed Anwar's sentiments that the judge had gone beyond his duty in calling for Anwar's defence, without considering the rebuttals from the defence.

Saiful is thankful for decision

"There was no need for the judge to go to that extent and I am disappointed with the decision," he said.

The complainant in the case, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan (left), in a tweet commenting on today's court ruling, said he was relieved with the decision.

"I am thankful with today's decision. I hope the trial will go on smoothly. I will continue to doa (pray), istiqamah (be steadfast) and be patient," he said in his tweet.

"The case will resume on June 6th to 30th with the defence case. They will produce witnesses to support the alibi and weaken (the prosecution's) case. I hope it would go on well," Saiful said.

Anwar was ordered to defend the charge of sodomising Saiful at the Desa Damansara condominium between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.