July 2, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — How things have changed? Ten years ago the revelation that the man, who accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him, had engaged in anal sex would have been headline news, not buried in the last few paragraphs of a report on page four of the New Straits Times.
But with public opinion firmly with the Opposition leader and Malaysians being skeptical about the latest sodomy charge against Anwar, the mainstream newspapers are playing it careful. They are giving critics of the government more space than they did in 1998 and shying away from the coverage reserved for war criminals which was how the former deputy prime minister was treated 10 years ago.
The NST, which led the anti-Anwar coverage in 1998, today reported that doctors at Hospital Kuala Lumpur performed tests on the accuser, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and found “indications that he had engaged in anal sex”.
The newspaper learnt that stool samples had been taken for further tests and reported that Saiful complained of constipation when he was taken to Hospital Kuala Lumpur. “Doctors, however, found something amiss during the check-up and upon questioning Mohd Saiful, learnt that he had been sodomised.”
The newspaper also reported that the police classified the case as sodomy after receiving Saiful’s medical report.
The Malaysian Insider has learnt that government officials are also aware of the contents of the medical report and say that it only proves that Saiful had engaged in anal sex with consent or had been sodomised. But to date there was nothing to indicate the Anwar was involved in the case. The view in Putrajaya is that if the evidence is flimsy, the police should wrap up the probe as soon as possible and clear the de facto head of Pakatan Rakyat.
These government officials do not believe that the Abdullah administration can extract any positives from this unsavoury episode, and should turn the page on it soon.
Anwar yesterday told reporters that he had a strong alibi to prove his innocence. “I have ample proof and witnesses,” he said. He alleged that a prominent leader and two other people close to the politician were part of a three-man team behind the sodomy allegation.