Counsel Karpal Singh told the high court trial hearing a sodomy charge against Anwar that the defence team would file a formal application for contempt proceedings against Mahathir following his weekend speech at an annual congress of his ruling party. Karpal accused the premier of "pre-empting" the move by saying he was not guilty of contempt and questioned if Mahathir was trying to influence the court. "It is not a question of politics but whether the PM is influencing or intimidating the court. There is no political element in the application. It is a legal matter," he said. Justice Arifin Jaka said the contempt issue was a separate matter from Anwar's sodomy trial. "I do not want the proceedings to delay. He is entitled to say that he is not in contempt," he said. "It is a separate issue. I may not hear the case. Make a proper application, let the court proceed." Attorney-general Mohtar Abdullah, who is leading the prosecution team, said Mahathir was "perfectly right" in his response to the defence's attempt to cite him. "It is his firm conviction, just like an accused person saying he is not guilty. I hope my learned friend will not use the court as a vehicle for some other collective motive," he added. The defence team had sought Friday to put Mahathir in prison for contempt of court, charging that comments in a speech at the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) would affect a fair trial. They highlighted his comments that Anwar's "morals and behaviour prevented him from becoming UMNO president." Mahathir later said he was merely informing delegates of what transpired between him and Anwar. The premier accused the defence lawyers of trying to scare him into silence over the case. Mahathir, 73, sacked Anwar last September amid a bitter feud over economic policies. After leading anti-government protests last year, Anwar was sentenced to six years in jail in April on four corruption charges. The 51-year-old Anwar is now accused of engaging in sodomy with his former driver Azizan Abu Bakar and is jointly charged with fashion boutique owner Sukma Darmawan, his Indonesian-born adopted brother. Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia and carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. In the morning session Monday, former Malaysian police chief Mohamad Haniff Omar said under re-examination by the prosecution that a 1993 special branch report found Anwar had "intimate" relations with three men. "One is known as Sukma, (another is) Mior (Abdul Razak Yahaya) and the third person, if not mistaken, is Dr. Munawar," said Haniff, police inspector general until 1993. Sukma and Munawar, a Pakistani biologist who was once a speech writer for Anwar, were jailed for six months each last September for having unlawful sex with the former deputy premier. But they later appealed their conviction, charging that police forced them into confessing. Munawar has fled to the United States following his release. Mior, 32, has also issued a legal declaration that he was not sodomised by the former leader, and has since been charged for giving false evidence in the declaration. A new witness, 44-year-old businessman Andrew Leong, told the sodomy trial that Anwar had asked him to arrange a meeting with Haniff. Leong, a close acquaintance of Haniff,
said Anwar only told him he had some "personal matters" to discuss with
the former police chief but did not elaborate.
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