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©The Star (Used by permission)
by Lisa Goh

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court has lifted a gag order prohibiting the press from publishing details on Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s alleged involvement in several cases concerning Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim 10 years ago.

Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah reversed her gag order decision made on Wednesday based on a preceding case, adding that she also found the Anwar trial to be interlocutory.

“I hereby find the affidavit of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim admissible. The (gag) order made yesterday is thereby dissolved,” she said yesterday.

Anwar had on Aug 7 claimed trial to sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara on June 26.

Anwar is represented by a team of nine lawyers led by Sulaiman Abdul-lah while the prosecution is led by Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden.

On Wednesday, Mohd Yusof applied for a gag order to prevent the press from publishing details on an alleged abuse of power by Abdul Gani in several cases concerning Anwar in 1998 “until the court deems it admissible.”

Details of the alleged abused were contained in Anwar’s police report, statements of claim filed by former investigating officers in the case, Asst Comm of Police Mat Zain Ibrahim (now Datuk), and then SAC 1 Datuk Musa Hassan (now Tan Sri), who both sued Anwar for defamation.

These were part of the court exhibits tendered in the case.

In his police report, Anwar claimed that former attorney-general Tan Sri Mokhtar Abdullah and Abdul Gani had “wilfully misled the public” and concealed details of Anwar’s black-eye assault from the public until the injuries were revealed in court.

He also alleged that Abdul Gani had fabricated and suppressed the evidence during his previous trials.

Anwar’s counsel Sulaiman had argued that these details were important to the case as it was Anwar’s grounds as to why Abdul Gani should not be involved in the present case.

He said being the A-G, Abdul Gani would be the person to sign the transfer certificate for the case to be transferred to the High Court.

Komathy adjourned proceedings to Oct 31 to accommodate Anwar, who will attend Parliament as Opposition leader when the House sits on Monday.

The judge will hear submissions from both parties before deciding whether the sodomy case will be transferred to the High Court.

In 1998, Anwar was tried in the High Court before Justice S. Augusti-ne Paul on four of five charges of corruption under the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 22, 1970.

He was also accused of five counts of sodomy. He was found guilty on four counts of corruption and sentenced to six years’ jail by the High Court.

In 2004, the Federal Court overturned his sodomy conviction.

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