As the court is to deliver the verdict on opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy trial on Monday, the PKR de facto leader held a briefing for diplomats over the possible outcomes of the case as well as the way forward for PKR and Pakatan Rakyat.

The two-hour briefing was held yesterday afternoon at a hotel along Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, with 25 diplomats present.

PKR vice-presidents Tian Chua and Nurul Izzah Anwar, treasurer-general William Leong, and Subang MP R Sivarasa were also present.

Nurul told the reporters after the briefing that this was just a normal occasion for the diplomats as the party holds this kind of briefing from time to time.

She said that the main topic of today’s briefing was the sodomy case, the possible outcomes of the verdict and how PKR and Pakatan will move forward after that.

She revealed that the diplomats present yesterday were from Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and Germany, among others.

When asked about the content discussed during the briefing, she said that the diplomats were more concerned about the human rights aspect of the case.

“They will not be interested about what’s in store, (but I think that) the level of political awareness is also important. These are the things we want to highlight,” she said.

‘Evidence not a hundred percent strong’

A diplomat who also present yesterday and wanted to remain anonymous was of the opinion that the evidence of the sodomy charge is “not a hundred percent strong”.

He said that when interviewed by Malaysiakini, Anwar had replied that the three possible outcomes of the verdict, which are acquittal, being found guilty but granted bail pending appeal, and being found guilty and being jailed straight away.

However, he also noted that Anwar didn’t specify who would be his successor in the party if he were jailed next week, and had only replied that PKR and Pakatan would grow strong without him.

When asked whether the verdict will affect the diplomatic relationship between his country and Malaysia, the envoy refused to comment on that.

“We have to observe first, we don’t judge, you have your own judges. In general if people are not happy with the verdict, it’s the Malaysian voters who have to decide,” he said.