Was there a 'deal' between Anwar Ibrahim and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak over Sodomy II; leading to the PAS dilemma over Anwar?
Teoh El Sen, FMT
Firebrand blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has suggested that there may have been a ‘deal’ between Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim prior to the latter’s acquittal in the Sodomy II charge in January this year.
In his latest posting “Does ABU equal to Anwar-for-PM?”, Raja Petra said that about a month before Anwar was acquitted, there was already news filtering out from Umno that Anwar would be freed, adding that the information came from ‘high-ups’ in Umno and was told to him by lawyer-activist Haris Ibrahim.
“Sam [Haris] received from his contacts in Umno that Anwar would be acquitted from the ‘Sodomy 2’ charge. The information that Sam received was that Najib had made a deal with Anwar. However, it was not too clear what type of deal it was,” wrote Raja Petra.
He said that Anwar’s acquittal would ‘more or less confirm’ that the latter had turned “Umno Trojan horse”.
Raja Petra also referred to the latest statements by the PAS Ulama and Muslimat wings’ supporting party president Abdul Hadi Awang to be made prime minister, saying that this may have been in response to Anwar’s unexpected acquittal.
“We were not the only ones caught gasping by Anwar’s acquittal. PAS, too, could not accept Anwar as prime minister. But for them to renounce Anwar would have been ‘bad politics’. However, if Anwar were convicted for Sodomy 2, then the problem would solve itself.
“Due to Anwar’s conviction for Sodomy 2, he would be disqualified from becoming prime minister even if Pakatan Rakyat wins enough seats to form the next federal government,” he wrote.
“If Anwar had been convicted for Sodomy 2, it would have been considered ‘good politics’, said Raja Petra.
According to Raja Petra, jailing Anwar would have had a adverse effect on Barisan Nasiona (BN).
“The sympathy factor would be high and Anwar could be ‘marketed’ as a martyr and a victim of injustice. Having Anwar in jail would benefit the opposition a great deal.
“Plus it would solve the additional problem of not having him as the Prime Minister in the event Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the federal government,” he said.
Was acquittal an independent decision?
Raja Petra said PM Najib may have realised that acquitting Anwar worked better for BN than putting him in jail.
“Najib, too, knew that PAS did not want Anwar as prime minister. Hence the prime minister would be doing PAS a favour by putting Anwar in jail.
“But if Anwar were to be acquitted, then PAS would face a dilemma. Do they (PAS) keep quiet and accept Anwar as prime minister or do they openly declare that they cannot accept Anwar as prime minister?”
“Was Anwar’s acquittal an independent decision by the judge or was the judge’s decision to acquit Anwar a brilliant political move by Najib to drive a wedge between PAS and PKR (plus also now between PAS and DAP it seems)?”
