THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER |
It never started off as a trial that made sense 16 years ago; it didn't make sense today.
Undeniably, the trial of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had never been short of political interference from the start. The penal code was only ever so used on Anwar.
But Umno could gain little out of Anwar being imprisoned. He will be made a martyr and the strong wave of activism will rise like how it unprecedentedly did in 1998.
It makes no sense that Umno would want to reduce its political capital, especially in a time when Pakatan Rakyat isn't at its strongest state. It wasn't just "hope" that I held on to, it was the consideration of political pragmatism as well.
It makes no sense.
During the appeal in November 2014, Twitter had been able to "hear" the submissions from both sides.
Jokes of the "Flying Carpets" and "Brioni suits" were passed around in mockery of the lack of sophistication of the Respondent's submissions. Shafee's professionalism was doubted many times, including the very last part of the appeal when he thought he had another "hidden" submission for the court.
Today, the Federal Court found on the narrowest of grounds to justify the validity of these jokes that we can only imagine to laugh off. Jokes were in fact taken as solid arguments. Our jaws fell to the ground.
It makes no sense.
Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan became a person whom the nation will regard as the last person to trust. Not only was he inconsistent in the courtroom, there were many instances outside the courtroom, like his meeting with the Prime Minister, that raised a lot of doubts.
Saiful's father was also a person who was uneasy about the "lies" Saiful had been involved in. He said it made him terribly uncomfortable.
However, Tun Arifin Zakaria was able to shape his decision as though Saiful was a person who had been of great credibility. That the heaviest of inconsistencies and the deepest of qualms would still make this man one credible and trustworthy person.
It makes no sense.
Judiciary is the highest pillar of freedom and independence of a nation. Many countries save a very special position for their judiciary, regardless of how the political tones fluctuate in their legislative and executive bodies. It is the last resort for people's rights.
Justice must not only be done, but seen to be done. But how foolish was I to rely on "hope".
They trust their judges, the higher they are in the hierarchy. Judges are trusted for their intelligence, shrewdness, and most of all, their independence. It takes a whole lot of removing of personal morals and principles by the judges to sacrifice that independence.
Only in Malaysia, it seems, that the unimaginable task of shedding these principles can be done so easily. Like today, the Federal Court judges were instead eager to open this new chapter of utter darkness.
It makes no sense.
Many of my friends often described how tumultuously scarring 1998 had been to Malaysian politics. It was regretful and despairing.
None of us knew that I was to relive their experience. Countries are supposed to mature, and politics are supposed to be less dirty and less naïve.
Politics in a country is supposed to reflect our societal preferences and reflect our growth. It should not develop into a phenomenon that we grow to hate for its disgusts.
It makes no sense.
For a man nearing his 70 mark to enter into prison solely for a greedy and tyrannical party's political mileage is truly difficult to watch.
Anwar is a man of great honour, and a prisoner of political conscience. He is in one of the most tormenting states and places any man could endure, simply because he believes.
Anwar paid the heaviest price any Malaysian is willing to pay. And no words would ever be fitting to describe how great this sacrifice was for an ideal.
The judiciary had been plagued with fundamental problems of its independence since 1988. It was a crisis that Malaysia will never truly recover from. And all Federal Court judges today had single-handedly proven that it is possible to regress even further.
"Anwar guilty".
It makes no sense.
Give up or fight on? Pick one.
