The Anwar-Daim conflict will further erode the concept of rule of law in Malaysia

The Anwar-Daim conflict will further erode the concept of rule of law in Malaysia


17 Jan 2024



TheRealNehruism
Writer. Seeker. Teacher

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Not many of us might know or still remember how PMX Anwar ended up in prison for the first time 25 years ago, so let me do a quick recap for you.


It all started when a book called “50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM” was circulated in the country. The book accused Anwar of many misconducts, including sexual misconducts.


Not long after the book circulated, Anwar was suddenly fired from the Cabinet post on 2 September 1998, and the following day, he was expelled from UMNO.


The next thing you know, Munawar Anees, Anwar's former speechwriter, and Sukma Darmawan Sasmita Atmadja, Anwar's adoptive brother, were arrested under suspicion of engaging in “unnatural sex” with Anwar. In less than a month after he had been fired from his job and not long after Sukma and Munawar had been arrested, Anwar was also arrested on September 20, by armed police commandos wearing balaclavas who stormed into his house.


Munawar and Sukma did not lodge any complaints against Anwar, mind you. They were arrested despite the fact that they had not lodged any complaints against Anwar and despite the fact that none of them were caught red handed in the act. They were all just arrested because of reports that had been filed against Anwar based on allegations that likely originated from a book called “50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM”.


Despite the defamatory nature of the allegation in the book, the writer of the book was not arrested. Instead, it was Anwar, Sukma and Munawar that were arrested.


Under interrogation, Sukma and Munawar confessed that they had engaged in “unnatural sex” with Anwar, and thus began the trial of Anwar, which is widely regarded as a sham trial, not only by me but by almost everybody else who knew about it.


Sukma and Munawar, would even later recant their confessions and claim that they have been coerced into pleading guilty under duress.


Anwar would also later on, in the year 2005, win a defamation case against Khalid Jafri, the author of the “50 dalil” book that kickstarted the entire affair.


In my own view, I think that the people that were intent on punishing Anwar genuinely believed that Anwar was guilty of engaging in “unnatural sex”, but I don’t think they proved it at all. Even 25 years after, I still don't see how the court could bring itself to convict Anwar with just the evidence that it had.



Despite that, Anwar was sentenced to 9 years in jail in the year 2000.


Anwar was also sentenced to 6 years in jail for corruption, but we shall put that aside for now, because it is because of him being labelled as a person who engages in “unnatural sex”, that I put it to you, that a vicious feud between him and the Mahathir-Daim inner circle, emerged. Their feud, fought at the highest level of power in Putrajaya, has been and still is haunting and dividing the nation even after more than a quarter of a century has passed.


Corruption charges, to be brutally honest, are likely a part and parcel of a politician's life, not only in Malaysia, but in most parts of the world. To be charged with corruption diminishes a politician no more than how a cup of salt diminishes the worth of a well full of water. To be accused of engaging in "unnatural sex" on the other hand, was a humiliating charge. It was personal, not business. It was delivered not to secure victory in a contest, but to ruin a person for a very personal reason. It is the difference between receiving a hard tackle and having your pants pulled down on a football field. After you leave the field, you might not even hold a grudge against the defender who delivered you a hard tackle. But the player that lowered your pants in front of everyone, is someone you will likely not forget until the day you die.



Today, I am remembering back to the incident of Anwar’s downfall in 1998 after I read a statement by Tun Daim Zainuddin. The statement that Tun Daim gave goes like this. “I am unaware of what actions I have taken which the MACC believes constitute an offence under Section 23 of the MACC Act and Section 4(1) of Amla [for money laundering]. Therefore, it is clear that the MACC has conducted a fishing expedition against us (Daim and his family) without reasonable cause.”


The phrase that triggered my memory is ” fishing expedition”, because a “fishing expedition” is exactly how I would describe how Anwar was brought down and humiliated in the year 1998.


Anwar’s persecutors had nothing against him in 1998. They had no smoking gun, no victims, no complaint and they did not catch anyone red handed. Yet, they had presumed Anwar’s guilt from the onset, and proceeded on a fishing expedition based on this presumption, with the confidence that as they continue fishing, they will be able to gain all the evidence that they needed.



Daim Zainuddin is an extraordinarily wealthy man. Even by his own admission, he is an extraordinarily wealthy man. Although he was likely already a rich man before he joined politics, it is also the case that his journey from being a rich man to becoming an extraordinarily rich man occurred in a period where he was active in politics.


Balzac once observed , that “behind every great fortune, there is a great crime.”


Of course, this presumption that behind Daim's great wealth, there must be a great crime , which justifies the usage of “fishing expedition” in order to unearthing a crime, goes against the principle of “presumption of innocence until proven guilty” that underlines every civilized legal system in the world, but considering that Anwar had been recipient of the “fishing expedition” method to secure his conviction in 1998, there is a question as to whether he is going to apply the same method that was applied against him by his enemies on his enemies, on the basis of an eye-for-an-eye.



Najib, let us not forget, was alleged to have swindled billions, but at the end of the day, he was convicted for merely misappropriating millions.


Daim, in all likelihood, has many more billions than Najib.


When Anwar casts his net as he goes on a fishing expedition against Daim, would it really be that difficult to catch Daim in a dodgy transaction, where Daim's political position and business interest conflicted ?


Of course, if Anwar applies such techniques as a "shake down" or "going on a fishing expedition" to pursue justice, it will go against his promise of reforming the system, but then again, considering the humiliation to his person that he had to endure and continues to abide by even until today, who amongst us can blame him for wanting to settle the score ? If we were in his shoes, wouldn't we also desire revenge?


I saw the movie, “Anwar: The Untold Story”, and in that movie, it is clear that Daim is amongst the people that Anwar likely blames for his trials and tribulations in the last 25 years.



Anwar has also, in his own words, indicated that he has a score to settle with Daim.


Putting aside the matter of the conflict that is occurring between the ruling class in the corridors of power, however, I feel that the reckless and careless application of such techniques as “fishing expeditions” or "shake downs" in our country for the last 25 years, even at the highest level of governance, is eroding the confidence that ours is a civilized and mature country that is governed by the rule of law.


Instead, it is giving rise to the suspicion that ours might be a more backward third world country that is ruled by law, where “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”


But saying that, considering the level of turmoil we are seeing at the highest echelon of power, I also feel that it is inevitable that we will continue to see the continual erosion of our country's dignity and prestige . The problem amongst the ruling class has crossed a point where it can be settled via tolerance, concessions or acceptance. The Mahathir-Daim inner circle is bound to go to war with Anwar and the forces for reformasi, and as an outcome, at least one of them will have to face ruin.


The question that bothers me however, is as to whether they will sink us too as they drown.


This sort of question, in turns, is making me even more convinced that the R-A-H-M-A-N prophecy might indeed be true. Najib, who represents the letter N in the RAHMAN prophecy, might be the last Prime Minister who carried the torch that was lit by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the founding father of Malaysia.


After Najib, the Malaysia as envisioned by Tunku has reached a crossroad. To go forward, we might need to leave behind the legacy of our past and figure out a new way altogether.



Nehru Sathiamoorthy is the author of “While Waiting for the World to end”. He was a columnist at FMT and a frequent contributor to the South China Morning Post, Malaysia-Today, MalaysiaNow, MalaysiaKini and Focus Malaysia.