http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25319
The dramatic Federal Court decision to free jailed ex-Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim after six years of incarceration will have far-reaching implications for Malaysia. PENANG, Malaysia – The dramatic Federal Court decision to free jailed ex-Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim after six years of incarceration will have far-reaching implications for Malaysia. There is more than one winner arising from the decision. Apart from giving Anwar a new lease of life, the court ruling will also provide a boost for the reformist credentials of Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Similarly, it will improve the public’s perception of the judiciary — which has been severely criticised as lacking independence and towing the government line. The stunning 2-1 Federal Court verdict on Thursday overturning Anwar’s sodomy conviction came exactly six years after his dramatic sacking from government by then premier Mahathir Mohammed on Sep. 2, 1998. It was the last realistic avenue for freedom for the ailing Anwar, who would otherwise have remained in jail until 2009. Thursday’s Federal Court decision went against the flow of a stream of unfavourable judicial rulings against Anwar over the years. His release is easily the biggest political development in Malaysia since Mahathir shocked the world by announcing his own decision two years ago to step down. ”The judges who reviewed and released Anwar will long be remembered for their courage in righting an injustice that has festered as a gnawing wound in the fabric of our politics,” P Ramakrishnan, president of the human rights group Aliran, told IPS. He also paid tribute to Anwar’s defence lawyers, whom he said would be admired for their perseverance in persisting with the case despite formidable odds. Anwar’s sacking and subsequent public humiliation in September 1998 sparked ‘reformasi’, a groundswell clamour for wide-ranging reforms, and split Malaysian society especially the majority ethnic Malay community. It was a defining period in Malaysian political history. When contacted, Anwar’s wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail told IPS that Anwar was in pain as a result of his spinal injuries. ”But he says he’s okay because he is free. He commended the judiciary for its decision. In fact, the judge said the (Lower) Appeals Court should have acquitted him,” she added. ”We are going to take him for spinal surgery to Germany at the dedicated spinal clinic (in Munich), which is what we always wanted,” Wan Azizah said. Lawyers and family members say Anwar had difficulty walking unaided due to injuries received during a horse-riding accident and a severe beating at the hands of the country’s then top police officer on the night of his arrest in 1998. The outcry following Anwar’s black eye forced the government to hasten the formation of a national human rights commission. The incident, along with other cases of police brutality, also tarnished the image of the police and prompted the new administration of Abdullah Badawi to set up a royal commission to review police operations. ”I am now unemployed,” an overjoyed Raja Petra Kamaruddin, director of Free Anwar Campaign, told IPS. ”Do you know of anyone looking for a campaign manager?” he joked. Raja Petra was instrumental in mobilising support among local and international groups through a popular Free Anwar website, which persisted even as other anonymous reformasi and Anwar websites lost their steam. He said the first thing Anwar needs to do is to get his health restored. ”He badly needs the surgery. In the first place, we don’t know if the surgery is going to be successful as the surgeon has said there is no guarantee of success.