Anwar's case:- Why appeal to Court of Appeal? Was it for the correct reasons or....

The reason for a filing of an appeal to the Court of Appeal is because the High Court judge had erred in law and/or facts - and when it is the Public Prosecutor (the Attorney General) who is filing an appeal - he must do so NOT because he has been instructed to do so by Najib and his BN government, not because the alleged victim wants him to do so, not because some people (or NGO) pressured him to file it .....BUT because the prosecution team after listening to the judgment and reevaluating the evidence and law came to the position that the learned High Court judge had erred in law and fact, and if the necessary facts and law was taken into consideration, then Anwar would have been found guilty...

As the question of whether the Attorney-General's Chambers will appeal the Sodomy II verdict or not hangs over the nation, complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan has made a passionate plea for an appeal.

With the prosecution having until Wednesday, Jan 25, to lodge the appeal, Saiful (left) in a last-ditch effort wrote to attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail to appeal to preserve his dignity and honour.

Saiful told his blog followers late yesterday evening that he had, through legal firm Zamri Idrus & Co, written to Gani to Appeal Anwar Ibrahim's acquittal in the Court of Appeal.

"I have to sent an official letter as there is no feedback for his open application to file the appeal. Time is winding down.

"The appeal is important as it involves my honour and dignity, and also my future. If I can file the appeal myself, I would have done so, without burdening others." - Malaysiakini, 20/1/2012, Saiful's last-ditch plea to AG to save his honour
 

It is learnt that this afternoon, 30 people from non-governmental organisation Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) had met with attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail to urge that a notice of appeal against Anwar’s acquittal be filed. - Malaysiakini, 20/1/2012, AG's Chambers files appeal against sodomy verdict

Hopefully, the decision to appeal was not a political decision - but one of law, i.e. a strong belief that the High Court judge had made a mistake...

Hopefully, the decision to appeal was not because of ego - but was motivated by justice. Sad today, not just in Malaysia but also some other countries, the worry is that public prosecutors are driven to win - not to ensure that justice is done. In the past, there have been even cases in England where the prosecutors even concealed facts and/or documents that were favourable to the accused persons. Remember that a public prosecutor must be motivated by justice - for a trial is not a competition between the prosecutors and the accused. 

The judgment is not out yet - and the AG may, after reading the grounds of judgment, withdraw the appeal. Maybe, what they are doing now is just safeguarding the right to appeal - and we really should not jump to any conclusions as to the reasons they filed this appeal at this stage. We must wait...