Malaysia Matters Podcast

It has taken nearly two months, but Anwar Ibrahim finally has received copies of the police report filed by Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 28 with which charges of sodomy have been levied, according to Malaysiakini and confirmed by politicalwatchmalaysia.

The police had maintained that Anwar would receive the report after he had been officially charged with a crime. But he was charged on August 7th.

By dragging their feet and withholding the information, the government has played into the hands of Anwar, a politician particularly adept at PR, by feeding those inclined to be skeptical the notion that the government has been up to no good.  

But on the other hand, according to Anwar, the report may have been withheld for good reason; namely that it might show holes in the case against him.

“We have found there was another inconsistency in the police report that was given to us - six weeks later, (and) on the instruction of the minister,” he told reporters in Yayasan Aman building in Permatang Pauh, where the party’s election campaign office is located.

While it has been much talked about that that the charges of sodomy taint Anwar’s image, ever the fox, there is opportunity for Anwar in the midst of disaster.  The other side of the coin is that, if the government gives Anwar ample opportunity to show that he has been unfairly persecuted, the resulting backlash could prove the deciding factor in turning PM’s to his cause -and thereby ushering in the PKR to power.

So what DOES the report say?

At this point, the only folks who don’t have a copy are the people of Malaysia.