PUTRAJAYA, Oct 31 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today declined to comment on former deputy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s ongoing sodomy appeal, saying only that the matter was for the courts to decide.
The former prime minister is usually a vocal critic of Anwar, whom he sacked from office in 1998 following allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct.
“Up to the judge,” Dr Mahathir said briefly after delivering his keynote address at the International Islamic Forum (IIF) in the Perbadanan Putrajaya building here, across the road from the Palace of Justice where Anwar’s case is being heard.
Anwar is currently contesting in the Federal Court an appellate court’s decision to overturn his 2012 acquittal for sodomy.
The High Court had in 2012 acquitted Anwar of the 2008 charge but the appellate court ruled on March 7 this year that the trial judge had erred when rejecting the DNA evidence produced in the case.
Anwar has repeatedly maintained his innocence, insisting that the charges were trumped up to kill his political career as he allegedly poses a threat to the Barisan Nasional coalition’s decades-long rule with the Pakatan Rakyat alliance, which he now leads.
If Anwar fails to reverse his five-year imprisonment sentence and conviction in the Federal Court, he would lose his seat as the law bars anyone fined RM2,000 or imprisoned for one year from serving as a lawmaker.
