Money can't buy you love, or happiness, but it can buy the system of justice that suits your budget and inclination, as most of the previous high profile trials in Malaysia have shown.

In Sodomy II, although Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was pitted against his accuser, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the trial could easily pass as a metaphor of the rakyat's fight against injustice and a failed democracy.

NONEAnwar bore our frustrations with this corrupt regime and his fight was also our fight; to restore democratic rights, for public institutions to recover their integrity, for the Judiciary to be made independent and for the police to regain the people's respect.

Meanwhile, Saiful personified the Umno/BN autocratic rulers, who acted just like the real-life Saiful, an unreliable witness who fabricated evidence and told lies.

When politicians, past and present, choose to play games with the rakyat by holding the citizens to ransom, they must understand that their actions will have consequences.

Allow incompetent companies to build roads and construct buildings, then crumbling structures or unsafe formations will arise. Award family members or friends with multimillion ringgit projects, then expect failure and siphoning of the taxpayers' money.

A tenure that's all about spin and image

Even the village idiot is able to anticipate these consequences, yet Malaysia's politicians are not prepared for the shock.

An independent judiciary would not have permitted Sodomy II to proceed, but this is an Umno judiciary and Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's tenure is all about spin and image.

In the end, the judge had little choice but to deliver today's verdict. What would international observers have made of the tainted evidence, the unreliable witness, the withholding of crucial documents, the conflicting statements and the sloppy practices in the Chemistry laboratory?

But Anwar's acquittal does not mean the judiciary is independent.

NONEA decade ago, former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad set a dangerous precedent when he refused to appear after being subpoenaed in Sodomy I. This time, the self-styled ‘First Couple', Najib and Rosmah Mansor, ignored the law and followed suit.

No one can set aside subpoenas without being slapped with an arrest warrant and charged with contempt of court. An apology for not appearing in court will not suffice and a jail sentence would follow.

By allowing Mahathir and Najib to set aside their subpoenas, the underlyling message was that two laws exist - one for political leaders and another for the common man.

In 1997, when Murray Hiebert, a Canadian journalist who was also the bureau chief for the Far Eastern Economic Review, wrote an article criticising the Malaysian judiciary, Mahathir had him jailed. Malaysian leaders cannot tolerate their courts and their judiciary being scandalised.

Mahathir was again outraged in 2004, when the Supreme Court overturned Anwar's Sodomy I trial and freed him. Today, Mahathir would be livid with Anwar's second acquittal.

Najib avoids news that is bad for him by fleeing the country. Acting true to form, he has fled to South Africa. Perhaps he is buying more diamonds for the First Lady.

Public anger will focus on corrupt politicians

Mahathir does not tolerate dissent and would be furious that he cannot settle old scores. Anwar's triumph has reduced the chances of a smooth transition of Mahathir's political legacy and dynasty through his son.

With Anwar vindicated, there is no stopping the rakyat. Malaysia can move forward, but public anger will focus on these corrupt politicians and their cronies.

Corrupt politicians risk losing billions of ringgit in public contracts and patronage and if they fail to win GE-13, they could face imprisonment for crimes ranging from abuse of power, mismanagement of public funds, public smears, rape and murder.

Anwar had access to the best legal brains in the land, and his high profile case attracted worldwide attention. If the verdict had been otherwise, the government would have received a public backlash and international isolation.

In the end, judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah saved his reputation, salvaged the image of the judiciary and gave temporary relief to Umno/BN, which many prematurely may claim is capable of reform.

Did Justice Zabidin receive orders from the top to release Anwar because, at this juncture, jailing Anwar would do more harm to Umno than allowing him to be released?

NONEWhen Anwar was freed this morning, his supporters and detractors, were open-mouthed with disbelief. Some of the veteran lawyers on Anwar's team were equally dumbfounded. Malaysians had prepared for the worst.

Unsurprisingly, the Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim proudly declared that Malaysia's judiciary was independent.

When will Rais understand that returning a not-guilty verdict does not translate into an independent judiciary?

The victims are ordinary Malaysians

Saiful must feel that he is the victim in Sodomy II. He is wrong. The victims are the ordinary Malaysians.

The role of Malaysia's judiciary is to practise, uphold, apply and enforce the rule of law, free from government interference, or private influence. The Judiciary has often been compromised and it was, in Sodomy II.

The rakyat has seen how our judiciary is manipulated, just to further the political ambitions of a few. They wonder what hope there is for the man-in-the-street to expect a fair hearing.

During Anwar's ‘fight for justice and a better Malaysia', he faced relentless slurs on his character.

After the political tsunami of March 2008, the mood of the nation changed, with everyone expecting reform, a new direction and a vibrant democracy.

But Umno/BN panicked.

In May 2008, Mahathir expressed dissatisfaction with Abdullah Badawi's rule and announced that he was quitting Umno unless Abdullah stepped down as Umno president and prime minister.

The following month, in June, Saiful lodged a police report, claiming Anwar had sodomised him.

Eight months later, Malaysians witnessed Perak's coup d'état by BN.

The plots and sub-plots have Mahathir's fingerprints all over them.

As Deputy PM, Anwar hogged the limelight over a decade ago when foreign news media praised him for his prudent fiscal measures and claimed he would make the better leader than Mahathir.

Mahathir planned his revenge against his protégé and the final straw came when Anwar refused to bail out corporations belonging to Mahathir's son and cronies. Anwar's fate was then sealed.

Today's setback will displease Mahathir. Najib, the corrupt BN politicians, their families and cronies may be afraid of Anwar, but they are more afraid of the rakyat.

For the first time in decades, Mahathir and his sordid bunch will have to seriously contemplate their futures. Mahathir is like a wounded animal and that, is when he is most dangerous. Perhaps, the appeal process will reveal BN's dirty tricks.

 

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.