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News Legal/General News Bar urged to make a stand in Anwar case
News Legal/General News Bar urged to make a stand in Anwar case 
| Bar urged to make a stand in Anwar case |
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| Friday, 26 August 2011 09:16am | |
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©The New Straits Times (Used by permission) KUALA LUMPUR: The Bar Council should come out and explain the "risks" behind opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's move to give a statement from the dock instead of taking the witness stand. Perak Umno information chief Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin said the legal body needed to make a stand on the issue as it could "confuse the people". Anwar, last Monday, had chosen to give his statement from the dock instead of taking the witness stand in his defence to his sodomy charge at the Kuala Lumpur High Court. Claiming that the court had "acted unfairly" towards him, Anwar chose to give a statement from the dock where he could not be cross-examined, over the other two options available to him. The other options were to testify under oath from the witness stand or reserve his right to remain silent. Hamzah said such an act could put the judiciary in bad light as it upheld the principle of "the truth and nothing but the truth". "If he chose not to testify under oath, whatever he says does not give any weight to the case as it does not matter whether it is the truth or not." Hamzah, who is also the deputy minister for plantation industries and commodities, stressed that the Bar Council, which was a neutral and independent body, should clear the air on the consequences behind such a move. "But why are they (Bar Council) keeping quiet on the matter?" he asked. Set as favourite Share Email This Comments (0)
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