With reports floating around that the Party Keadilaan Rakyat (PKR) is boosting its campaign to combat the sodomy charges and the oath taking show by Saiful Bukhari, the reality that Saiful’s oath taking has slammed the door to the pending civil case. The comments by BN and United Malays National Organization (Umno) ministers and members on the oath taking ceremony has also slammed the door on claims that the sodomy allegation is part of a conspiracy to damage Anwar Ibrahim’s image and finish his political career.

This is so because the ball is now in the Umno camp. The more the Umno members and Ministers comments on the Saiful show and the more they challenge Anwar to take the oath on the Muslim Holy book to prove his innocence shows their haste in trying to ‘nail’ Anwar.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, said to be from a family with great Islamic ties and traditions, has voiced out his opinion that Anwar must now take the oath after Saiful has done so. The beleaguered PM also called Saiful the victim in the entire affair and said he had an impression the puppet was sincere in his allegations.

In this high political profile sodomy allegation, the BN and the Umno cannot ignore the fact that Anwar Ibrahim is first of all the man who can bring them down and secondly the most popular politician in the country. An allegation of sodomy launched against Anwar Ibrahim will definitely have a political connotation since if it brings his downfall; it will be the end of the road for the most dangerous political opponent the BN and the Umno has ever encountered.

It is clear that Saiful’s swearing on the Holy Quraan the non-Muslim way – dixit Nik Aziz Nik Mat of Party Islam Se-Malaysia (Pas) – was intended to be used as a tool in the Permatang Pauh campaign against Anwar. Permatang Pauh is made of 70 percent or so of Malays of which some 50% or more lives in Villages.

Village Malays are known to believe anything and everything that comes under the roof when the swearing on the Holy Quraan is involved. The opponents of Anwar Ibrahim apparently timed the ‘oath’ ceremony which was a procession like of a sacrificial lamb to the altar of sacrilege, in order to influence the voting process in Permatang Pauh.

The hope of the anti-Anwar camp definitely is to see the majority of the village people beat into retreat and reject Anwar Ibrahim as a confirmed sodomizer since his accuser has vowed on the Holy Quraan that he was indeed sodomized by Anwar.

This swearing by Saiful, they hope, will overrule any court decisions in Anwar’s favor and will be seen as the small people like a clear cut verdict against a man who has turned into an unstoppable bulldozer in Malaysian politics.

They forget to see the end game in this swearing ceremony. Now there are 3 options on the table that can lead to an awkward situation in which the boomerang effect of the Saiful’s oath taking could be devastating to the BN-Umno.

First and foremost Anwar can take the oath to simply nullify the oath taken by Saiful. In the event Anwar decides to take the oath in front of a crowd of village people, wearing Malay cultural dresses and holding the Quraan in the right hand – note that Saiful held the Quraan in the left hand which is an offense in Islam – this will be the end game for the Umno. The people will believe Anwar’s swearing on the Quraan more than Saiful’s swearing.

In secundo, Anwar refuses to take the oath for the simple reason that the oath taking will not stop the march of a criminal case against him and will not clear his name of a crime he insist he did not commit and of which he accuses the ruling coalition of orchestrating yet another conspiracy against him. In this act, Anwar keeps the ball rolling and the accusation of conspiracy going which is a great political game plan since the people of Malaysia is more poised to believe in a conspiracy against the battling opposition leader. The more so the conspiracy theory is kept alive and well by the altruistic and innocent reactions by the Umno and BN leaders themselves.

In a political game plan, a ruling coalition will not be believed if it opens a can full of worms against an opposition that is on the verge of toppling it in a dramatic way. Anwar has launched his return to the Malaysian political scene with a promise that the current government will fall by September this year. Along the road, a sodomy accusation is made against him and the mishandling of the issue by the authorities and the great importance given to the sodomy allegation by the ruling coalition is clear indication that someone is behind the allegation.

In Tierto, Anwar can offer to swear on the Holy book with the pre-conditions – which is an Islamic way of carrying out justice – that the civil case against him be dropped and that the affair ends with his swearing that he did not sodomize the accuser.  The BN-Umno, claiming to be Islamic, cannot refuse such a dare by Anwar. In Islam it is customary for the parties involved in an unsettled tussle to take the oath on the Holy book in order to leave the consequences of their acts to the hereafter.

Will the BN-Umno accept such a proposal if it was to come from anyone? The doubt is that the BN-Umno will accept this challenge and if that is confirmed after a proposal of this kind is pushed forward to settle the sodomy allegation; it is the BN-Umno that stands to lose everything against Anwar Ibrahim.

Even Tun Mahathir, who has pledged that he will run away from Malaysia in the event Anwar Ibrahim becomes Prime Minister of Malaysia, will not be able to face such an offer since if he rubbishes that Anwar’s eventual swearing of an oath will dismiss the pending case it will shallow down his ‘Islamic’ credentials. No one can refuse the fact that if Anwar takes an oath to reject the Saiful’s oath in a very oath fight oath battle, the entire civil case will have to be logically thrown out of the courts and Anwar will have to be charged for nothing!

Tun Mahathir has dared Anwar to take the oath but has failed to understand the Islamic perspective of an oath taken by Anwar and that is the nullifying of both the sodomy accusation and the political future of the leaders who are perceived to be behind the allegation.

With the cards on the table and the obvious rejection by the BN-Umno of such an offer to nullify the accusation against Anwar in the event he takes an oath, the opposition leader has no choice but to keep the oat taking at the very end of all legal proceedings and avenues in an attempt to clear his name and nail the BN-Umno on his conspiracy claim.

Conclusively, any twist and turn of the Saiful’s oat taking ceremony is now in favor of Anwar Ibrahim as it gave him a master wild card to play. Saiful’s wrongful oath taking – this should have been done after all legal avenues are exhausted – smells political motivations by some quarters to taint Anwar further. It also shows the desperation by some to diminish the majority with which Anwar is bound to win the Permatang Pauh elections.

The biggest mistake made by Saiful was to take the oath since it now renders his claims shallow as they are bound to be nullified not by Anwar’s oath taking but the massive voting in favor of Anwar Ibrahim in the by-election in a constituency where Anwar was born to win. It is the people of Malaysia by proxy of the Permatang Pauh by-election that will seal Saiful’s show by sending Anwar Ibrahim to the Parliament after the 26^th August. (Extracted from www.independent.my)

(Editors Note: The article is not asking Anwar to swear. It is discrediting the oath swearing strategy of the anti-Anwar camp)

Comments (8)

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SAIFUL OATH TAKING
written by ck tan, August 20, 2008

What would happen if Anwar Ibrahim were to swear on the Koran that he did not sodomise Saiful, would this clear Anwar Ibarhim or will the court charged Saiful be for making false accusation. Definitely not.

And where will this lead to...back to Syariah Court to decide. If so, then why bother to swear might as well wait for the court case

ANWAR IBRAHIM " The Immortal "
written by mexan abdullah, August 20, 2008

Just one sentence here.......I just cant believe that the ruling coalition is still bulldozing their way by crook despite the recent strong blowing winds of the " Movement Of Change " in our beloved country- People Power & UMNO Sudah Lupa Tuhan.

what is the objective?
written by Andrew, August 20, 2008

man.. u are just quoting others' opinion and do not provide any concrete view. What are u blogging about? U hv no basis to ur arguement and all the facts is so shallow.

shallow drew
written by monitor, August 21, 2008

I cannot believe this Andrew is so stupid he can't get to understand an article. go read again and again and if you did not understand...pls stop reading.

What's the need to Swear?
written by Tengkolok, August 21, 2008

10 years ago in 1998, Anwar Ibrahim swear in the name of Allah, inside the National Mosque that he didn't commit any sodomy act. But what happenned? He was still arrested and sent to jail! So, Mahathir Mohd, Bodohwi, Najis and all those UMNO goons, MELAYU MUDAH LUPA!

Why the call for him to swear again? Will it make any difference?

The lie and the truth
written by Dax Low, August 21, 2008

The mother of all lies or The father of all truths

http://www.kingsmary.blogspot.com/

Swearing is not necessary
written by Admins, August 21, 2008

Salam

We want to make the point that many readers seem to be in disarray with the article. The writer never asked Anwar to swear or take an oath. The writer is cleverly explaining the strategy behind the swearing of an oath and explains clearly that Anwar is to win in any cases.
After all, it was not for Saiful to swear an oath that he was sodomized, it is for the accused to do so and this only after all legal avenues are exhausted.
Since Saiful has already sworn on the Quraan in haste, it shows a mis-understanding of Islamic principles by him and by the people who forced him or urged him to do so.

Thanks

Admin

Do we still need a court?
written by elizabeth, August 21, 2008

All this oath taking is making a mockery of the justice system. Notwithstanding the fact that, most Malaysians do not trust our courts or the police. If there is an accusation, let the police investigate and follow that with the due process. Anwar is right for not bothering to counter the oath taking, becuz if he did, he would become part of the monkey show.

Dont know if this latest ploy will succeed in influecing the PP voters, but one thing it has achieved for urban malaysians like me is, we are disgusted and taken by surprise, at how bankrupt and clueless the BeeN and Arm-no are at problem solving. There is an election to win, and an empire to secure, but come on, put on your thinking cap. Do things that work, come up with solutions that will hve a lasting effect (if you cant save malaysia forever, at least till next GE)....

Every day, I am more and more convinced that, 308 may have been unplanned for by the rakyat, but with each new incident, new innuendoes, political game that the BN puts on, we are truly grately that 308 turned out the way it did.

PR may be the accidental winner in GE12, but come GE13, if the BeeN dont buck up, bringing PR into power wuld be a very deliberate action of all Malaysains.

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