INTERVIEW Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said while he may be facing jail for sodomy charges for the second time, there is also a possibility having a sedition charge dangled upon him just in case he gets acquitted in his appeal.
He added that even if he were to be imprisoned for sodomy, the authorities might still slap the latter charge on him to ensure he stays behind bars longer.
Anwar was speaking to Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview at his Bukit Segambut bungalow.
The jollity and smiles with which he greeted the Malaysiakini team belie a man facing the possibility of being jailed in a few days’ time, for probably more than five years.
“The (sedition case) is beyond the police as they have actually closed the case. But there is instruction from Putrajaya, the Attorney General's (AG) Chambers.
“I have a problem with AG Abdul Gani Patail as he takes it personally, although I have been extremely guarded, I just talked against the system, the final possibility with the prime minister (on Altantuya Shaariibuu), and avoided from even mentioning the AG.”
“I was told that they (police) had to interview me because they prefer a charge (of sedition), and initially it was supposed to be prepared the following week.
"They decided to postpone it, probably to wait till after the trial (appeal), to prefer a charge when I am imprisoned, or in the event I was acquitted, so that there is something else to hold on to,” the opposition leader said.
Anwar was the latest politician to be snared in the sedition blitz by the authorities since August.
Police took Anwar's statement last month following a speech he delivered at a political rally in Gombak, in 2011 where he was scheduled to launch the 'Datuk Najib Altantuya' (DNA) campaign.
No deal struck in 2004
On questions whether there was a deal struck between him and the government, then headed by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2004, for his release in Sodomy I, Anwar said such claims are "untenable".
“This is not true, there was no missive sent, except from the very beginning.
"The only time that I raised my voice was against (former PM) Dr Mahathir Mohamad (when he made an offer): 'You prefer a charge, or how much money you want, stay overseas',” Anwar, who was then former deputy prime minister said of the offer by the former premier.
Anwar in 1998 was sacked by Mahathir who alleged him of being a homosexual and subsequently led to the infamous Sodomy I episode.
“I said no (to Mahathir's offer), that was the only time this was conveyed.
"Although later I heard, there were some other arrangements, but they never reached me.
"Even if they had reached me, now way after you have served six years of trumped up charges, why do you need to concede a compromise?” he said.
A senior lawyer close to the Umno leadership had told Malaysiakini that there was a deal in 2004 to free Anwar of Sodomy I, where part of the agreement was that the former DPM retire from politics for good.
The deal included former Federal Court judge and chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad writing the contentious paragraph that the sodomy incident did indeed occur.
Anwar had applied to expunge the contentious paragraph in Abdul Hamid's majority judgment that freed him of the Sodomy I charge earlier this year but failed.
The opposition leader in his immediate reaction to that decision in court then was “Allah! It is like another judgment! Why is it that anything against Anwar will result in this?”
Moving on, Malaysiakini asked Anwar what he thought was the reason for Sodomy II if it was because he had not honoured the 2004 agreement, to which he replied it would be wrong if there was such an agreement in the fist place.
“Even then, is that the basis (to charge me), because Anwar did not 'honour his commitment', was there a commitment?
"(This is) very fundamental, involves moral, ethical questions. Here, if there had ever been a deal, it is certainly not right. Even for them to hold that, is untenable,” he said.
Recalling the ‘black eye’
On whether he is prepared in any way to go to prison for the second time, Anwar said he may be more mentally prepared this time around, but not physically as he has aged since.
Anwar said the first time he was imprisoned after his sacking, he recalls vividly going to Bukit Aman headquarters (in 1998), handcuffed, thrown into the lockup and then minutes later, the then inspector-general of police (Abdul Rahim Noor) came and assaulted him, giving him a black eye.
“Of course that’s quite traumatic. You realise it was one of the worst, dark episodes in your life. Then I was 50, mentally and physically strong, not 67.”
Despite claiming to be mentally prepared, he said he is hanging on to “a little hope, expectation that sanity will prevail in the judiciary”.
“I would expect the highest court of the land to respect the principle of judiciary independence, to adjudicate based on law and facts.”
“If that's the scenario, then there is no way out except a clear acquittal.
"I still have that little hope, expectation that sanity will prevail, that the judiciary is duty-bound to protect the constitutional guarantees and therefore, get me an acquittal,” the Permatang Pauh MP said.
Anwar, a father of six and a grandfather of five, said friends overseas have told him not to return from a recent trip, but he did regardless.
In doing so, he faces the prosecution now applying for a heavier sentence arguing the five years' jail term imposed by the Court of Appeal is inadequate compared to 20 years jail term and whipping provided for the Section 377B of the Penal Code.
‘I'm not a hero’
Anwar said he is not trying to prove himself a hero by coming home to face the charges, but he does need to show that he is one to “a few cronies for calling you a coward, where none of them would even dare sit in jail for a day - they cannot talk about courage or running away”.
He said by standing up to being possibly jailed, he is telling the country's youth, “To clamour for reform, the struggle for freedom and justice, demands at least a small price, and this is the price I have to pay.”
“Hopefully this would then motivate the young to see. It is not necessarily to follow or support Anwar, but to understand that if you love this country, if you cherish the whole ideals of reform and justice, then you have to accept the fact that you have to pay a small price,” he said.
Anwar's appeal against his conviction and sentence, and the prosecution's counter-appeal will be heard on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Federal Court before what is expected to be a five-member panel.
The interview was conducted by Zakiah Koya, Hafiz Yatim, Alyaa Azhar, Radzi Razak and KiniTV ’s Prasadh Michael.
Yesterday: No burying of hatchet as Anwar faces jail
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