Clashing With Judge, Defense Lawyers Bar Closing Arguments : Anwar Trial Concludes Abruptly In a Furor 
International Herald Tribune
March 24, 1999
Thomas Fuller

The trial of Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's ousted deputy prime minister, abruptly ended Tuesday with defense lawyers refusing to make closing arguments and the judge declaring them in contempt of court.

The high-profile case, which rocked the political establishment and brought thousands of demonstrators onto the streets a few months ago, ended with an unusual standoff between the judge and defense team.

After a sharp exchange of words with the defense lawyers, Judge Augustine Paul declared the trial over, said he would deliver his verdict on April 6 and told Mr. Anwar that he could provide written submissions if he wanted to.

If convicted, Mr. Anwar faces 14 years in jail or a 20,000 ringgit ($5,260) fine — or both — on each of four charges filed against him.

He is accused of ordering police officers to cover up allegations of sexual indiscretion.

Both the defense and prosecution had been scheduled to deliver their closing arguments on Tuesday, but an application by the defense to remove the judge caused the proceedings to halt.

Mr. Anwar submitted the application last week, saying that he felt he could not receive a fair trial from the judge, who has presided over the case since it began in November.

"I have grave apprehension that the learned judge might not bring an impartial and unprejudiced mind with respect to the issues and matters before him," Mr. Anwar wrote in the document.

Confusion Tuesday over the proper submission procedures for the application led to a deadlock. The judge called the defense team "defiant" for refusing to make closing arguments before the application was heard.

"If the defense wishes not to submit, it is entirely up to them," the judge said about the closing arguments. "This places an extreme burden on the court to ensure that justice is done for the accused. To me, this amounts to interference of justice and it is contempt of court by all members of the defense team."

The unusual end to the politically charged trial came two days after the country's opposition leaders criticized the handling of the case.

"It is clearly an unfair trial," said Lim Kit Siang, leader of the opposition in Parliament and head of the Democratic Action Party. "I am saying this although it might land me in contempt of court."

Mr. Anwar says he is the victim of a political conspiracy. Before he was dismissed by Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad last September, he was the second most powerful politician in the country.

The judge has refused to accept Mr. Anwar's claims of a political conspiracy as a defense and has barred 10 defense witnesses from giving testimony.

Whatever the outcome of the trial, Mr. Anwar faces additional charges of sodomy and other alleged crimes that have yet to be disclosed by the attorney general.

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