Final Verdict
A six-year jail sentence for Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim triggers opposition protests and raises questions about the future of reform
By ANTHONY SPAETH
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's languid, palm tree-and-skyscraper capital, had rarely experienced such tension. All eyes were on the high court building, where the fate of Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's former Deputy Prime Minister, would be delivered following a 77-day trial on charges of corruption and sexual misconduct. It had been the longest trial in Malaysian history.
The court session last Wednesday began in dramatic fashion as a defense counsel asked that Justice Augustine Paul, who served as both judge and jury in the case, disqualify himself for having recently likened one of Anwar's lawyers to "an animal," adding "we should shoot him." But Justice Paul went forward with the verdict, proclaiming Anwar guilty on four counts of corruption and announcing an unexpectedly severe sentence of six years in jail, not including the almost seven months Anwar has already spent in incarceration.
Anwar's family remained unemotional, even 12-year-old daughter Nurul Ilham, though no one had expected such a stiff sentence. Then the former heir apparent to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad delivered a lengthy statement, proclaiming calmly but forcefully: "I have been dealt a judgment that stinks to high heaven." While still in the courtroom Anwar's family was jeered by policemen, who laughed and flashed the thumbs-down sign--and that started the tears flowing. "We expected it," said Anwar's sister Farison Ismail, "but we just can't take it."
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