Anwar’s Sodomy II charge - very imminent

What are your impressions when you read the following AP report today?

PM rules out emergency rule
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today ruled out imposing emergency rule if street protests broke out in the event that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was arrested.

“I don’t think we are going down that road; definitely not,” Abdullah told Associated Press in an interview today.

“Why should (protests) get out of hand? That would be very unbecoming of the party that intends to be the government of Malaysia - to take laws into their own hands and demonstrate as they wish.”

There are fears that Anwar could be arrested in the coming days as the police wrapped up their investigation into a former aide’s allegation that he was sodomised by Anwar.

Abdullah said that the 23-year-old ex-aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, deserved justice as much as any other Malaysian.

“This man pleads for justice,” Abdullah said. “We care about (Anwar) more than we care about this man? That is very odd. He needs justice; that is what he is crying for. We cannot ignore that.”

The conclusions which one can reasonably draw from this AP report include:

1. That the widespread speculation of an impending arrest of Anwar Ibrahim on Sodomy II charge is strongly grounded;

2. That the Prime Minister has been briefed of police measures in the event of Anwar’s arrest; and

3. That the Prime Minister is privy to the decision that will be taken by the Solicitor General on the police investigation papers on Anwar’s Sodomy II allegation – which the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar told media today as having been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

How does this square with the fundamental constitutional principle that no one, including the Prime Minister, should be involved in the exercise of the “sole discretionary power” to prosecute or not to prosecute which is vested in the Attorney-General under Article 145 (3) of the Constitution?

Or is this the latest example of the desecration of the doctrine of separation of powers in Malaysia?

My feeling after reading Abdullah’s comments in the AP report is that Anwar’s arrest to be charged for Sodomy II is most imminent.

This is fortified by the Bernama report on the threat issued by the Deputy Health Minister, Datuk Dr. Abdul Latif Ahmad that Hospital Pusrawi is liable to a fine of up to RM300,000 and its management being jailed for “negligence” which led to the leakage of information concerning the ‘medical report’ on Mohd Saiful Bukhari who had earlier claimed that he was sodomised by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Abdul Latif Ahmad said the penalties were provided for under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.

Furthermore, disciplinary action could also be taken by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) against the doctor involved in the incident because issuing the report to the public went against the professional ethics of a medical practitioner, he said.

Lim Kit Siang