Sexual Abuse Case - Anwar should NOT delay the FAIR TRIAL in Open Court? Too many JUDGE changes, lawyer changes, applications???

When a sitting Prime Minister is alleged to have committed sexual abuse, it is a matter of PUBLIC Interest, and best that the TRIAL be speedily commenced and resolved, and it must be by OPEN TRIAL.

Note that this civil suit was filed by Yusoff Rawther on 2021, after nothing came out of a police report that he earlier filed in 2019. WHY has the TRIAL not started yet - it should have started and been over at most within 3 years of filing?

Yusoff's civil suit comes after he made a statutory declaration and a police report over the incident in 2019. In January 2020, the Attorney General’s Chambers said it would not pursue the matter. ....Yusoff, now 32, filed the civil suit against Anwar in July 2021, alleging that he had been sexually assaulted at Anwar’s Segambut home on Oct 2, 2018.... - Edge, 9/9/2025

'Citing prolonged delays on behalf of his client, Rafique said that the original High Court action was filed in July 2021, and trial was set for June 16, 2025' - well this DELAY maybe caused by the fact that there is not enough Judges and Courts in Malaysia to be able to speedily dispose cases. 

Malaysia does not have enough judges to deal with the growing workload, as the number of court cases had surged in the past few years by up to 50 and 60 per cent, Chief Justice of Malaysia Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said today. -Malay Mail, 12/1/2026

Across different legal systems, the number of judges per million people varies widely:

Country / Region	Judges per Million People	Status / Year
Europe (Average)	~220	2022 Average
USA	~150	2024 Estimate
Canada	~21	2026 Ratio (Approx. 1 per 47,000)
Australia	~8	2026 Ratio (Approx. 1 per 124,000)
India	15 – 22	2025/2026 Report
Malaysia	~4	2026 Ratio (Approx. 1 per 239,852)

The MADANI government has failed to address this fundamental issue of increasing High Court/Court of Appeal/Federal Court JUDGES - just about 4 judges for every 1 million people is SHOCKING and it will significantly affect the administration of JUSTICE in Malaysia. APPOINT MORE JUDGES now...

Back to Yusoff Rawther's case and its DELAYS 

Anwar CHANGING of Lawyers - a right yes, but is it also a 'strategy' to delay the commencement of TRIAL?

On May 23 last year, Anwar’s team had applied to change lawyers from Jeffrey Lee to Zaid Megat Murad.

Several months later in September, after the Court of Appeal had fixed dates throughout February to file and hear the appeal, Anwar filed a notice to change lawyers to the firm of William Leong & Co.

A month after this, Anwar filed another application to change his law firm from William Leong & Co to Christopher & Lee Ong.

“From the above chronology, it is clear that the appellant has repeatedly changed lawyers at different junctures of the proceedings, and at the last minute, while the court has already fixed dates,” Rafique wrote.

He argued that the rationale that these lawyers were “newly appointed” and needed more time to adapt to the case should not be accepted as “good cause”. - Malaysiakini, 21/1/2026

Then, Anwar asked for adjournment because he was the Prime Minister and that no civil suits should proceed against him so long as he is a sitting PM. The High Court judge rejected Anwar's application, and then he appealed to the Court of Appeal - and later withdrew that appeal. Remember, that the Court had earlier fixed for the TRIAL to begin on June 16, 2025.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s lawyers have written to the Court of Appeal to inform the court that Anwar is withdrawing his appeal over the High Court’s decision to dismiss his attempt to refer eight questions of law to the Federal Court with regards to his former aide Muhammad Yusoff Rawther’s lawsuit against him....  On June 4, then-presiding High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain had dismissed Anwar’s application to refer questions of law with regards to the position of a sitting prime minister being sued, as it did not meet the threshold for the questions to be referred to the Federal Court. - Edge, 13/2/2026

QUESTION must be asked is WHY is Anwar delaying the commencement of the TRIAL - and Anwar's delays just makes the public belief that it may be TRUE that Anwar sexually abused Yusoff - BUT, Please let us wait for the TRIAL - hoping that the Judge be INDEPENDENT and justice be done...noting there was a 'questionable' change of judge hearing the case before...

Justice Johan Lee would be transferred to the High Court in Alor Setar effective next month.High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain was the NEW Judge 

Change of Judge in Sexual Assault suit filed by Yusoff Rawther against PM Anwar Ibrahim may raise questions? Can't the same Judge still hear the case?

Roz Mawar Rozain must recuse herself from Yusoff Rawther - Anwar Ibrahim case for justice to be seen to be done. Will judges 'picked' by Anwar be INDEPENDENT in cases involving Anwar, family/friends or even his government?

Then Roz Mawar Rozain was transferred, and another NEW Judge - Justice Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan 

Justice Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan will hear former research assistant Yusoff Rawther’s civil lawsuit against Anwar Ibrahim, lawyer Nur Mustanir Nor said today.The lawyer, a member of Yusoff’s legal team, said the case was assigned to Raja Ahmad after Justice Roz Mawar Rozain was transferred to Seremban last month.“Case management will be held before the new judge on April 8 to fix trial dates,”

Some may wonder whether Judge Roz Mawar was 'removed' because she dismissed Anwar's application that the civil suit ought not commence/continue against a sitting Prime Minister???

It is BEST NEVER to Change Judges after the said Judge has already conducted case management and fixed TRIAL DATES - because whenever a NEW Judge is appointed - again, there will be CASE MANAGEMENT and NEW Trial Dates fixed  - It may be another 'DELAY TACTIC'. After all, the same JUDGE, even if transferred, can always return to hear the TRIAL -- that is BEST. Every time JUDGE changes - there may be NEW CASE MANAGEMENTS - and NEW TRIAL DATES will be fixed.  

Anwar Ibrahim has again applied for a postponement of the sexual assault suit by Yusoff Rawther, just a month after the Court of Appeal ordered the prime minister to pay RM50,000 in costs to his former aide over multiple delays of the trial, which was supposed to have started in July last year.

In court filings seen by MalaysiaNow, Anwar is seeking the Kuala Lumpur High Court to rule on three questions concerning claims Yusoff made in his suit against the PKR leader.

But Anwar requested that deliberations on these questions should not be conducted in a physical court, as any appearance by him as the sitting prime minister "will inevitably attract intense public and media attention".

"The preliminary issues and/or questions raised should be heard and disposed of by way of affidavits or in the alternative, in camera and/or by remote communication, to the exclusion of members of the media, members of the public, journalists and/or any persons not directly involved in the proceedings," said a notice...Malaysia Now, 3/4/2026

In media reports today, this is what Anwar Ibrahim is alleging 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim claimed he could not have sexually assaulted Yusoff Rawther because he was with his daughter Nurul Nuha at the time and date of the alleged incident.

This is according to a supporting affidavit that Anwar filed to the Kuala Lumpur High Court denying that his former aide was present at his residence in Segambut on Oct 2, 2018.

"... My second daughter, Nurul Nuha, was at my residence between 2pm and 6pm.

"She confirmed that she and her children were in my company until the arrival of my guests from Indonesia, namely Romo Nitiyudo and Nella Sandra, and that at no time between 2pm and 4pm did I meet anyone other than her and my grandchildren," he said in the court document filed on March 31.

The Tambun MP also refuted claims that his then private secretary Shukri Saad had asked Yusoff to deliver a speech text to the residence.

According to Anwar, who was an opposition leader then, his security personnel, Norafree Ahmad, also denied that he accompanied Yusoff to Anwar's residence, as alleged in the former aide's civil suit.

The premier claimed that during the day of the alleged incident, he was in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, in the morning and only arrived at the house in Segambut between 1pm and 2pm, before leaving for an event in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, between 5pm and 6pm.

"I state that there is no evidence that the plaintiff was present at the Segambut residence on Oct 2, 2018.

"I further state that the plaintiff did not hand over the speech that I delivered on Oct 2, 2018, at the Mahatma Gandhi Event directly to me. It was handed over to my security personnel," he said.

Anwar's affidavit was filed in support of his application seeking the court to postpone Yusoff's civil suit against him until it determines three issues he raised regarding Yusoff's allegations.

The prime minister is also seeking the court to bar the media from covering the preliminary issues and limit hearings only to persons directly involved in the case.

Another 'DELAY TACTIC'? All this defence must be done in a FAIR TRIAL in an open court - not through Affidavits by the Defendant. 

WHY? When the witness takes the stand and testifies - the Judge will be observing the witness to see if he/she is believable, or is an unreliable witness that is hard to believe. Second, there will be CROSS EXAMINATION of the witness that will challenge the TRUTH of the witness testimony - and then RE-Examination of the witness.

NOW HEARSAY evidence is generally INADMISSIBLE - so what Anwar says about what his daughter, his then private secretary Shukri Saad, and HIS Security Personnel say are all HEARSAY evidence. Will they in Court on the witness stand say the same thing - will their evidence survive cross-examination by Yusoff's lawyers? Will the JUDGE believe the said witnesses are telling the TRUTH?

SUBJUDICE? - the Trial is yet to start, so why is ANWAR trying to do now > is he trying to influence the court and the public?

In a Civil Trial, it is the Plaintiff(Yusoff) that starts - he will call witnesses to prove his allegations FIRST - then only will the Defence present his/her case.

Since there was a police report made about this case in 2019 - a police investigation would have commenced, and NORMALLY the alleged perpetrator would be called and his statement taken - Wonder what Anwar is saying NOW tallies with the statement he gave the police then in 2019? I am CURIOUS... Did Anwar's daughter Nurul Nuha, that security personell Norafree Ahmad, his former private secretary Shukri Saad  make a statement to the police during the police investigations? Did they say what Anwar claims they said? Surely, they were material witness that the police should have questioned and taken statements then? [Remember, for a criminal charge, the prosecutor must determine that they have sufficient evidence to proof at the very least a prima facie case - if not they will not proceed to charge any suspect. Thus, the fact that the police/prosecution did not charge Anwar is NO proof of innocence...}Will those statements to the police be adduced as evidence during the TRIAL? 

Will this application, the contents of the affidavit NOW affect the INDEPENDENCE of the TRIAL JUDGE? Would this lead to an application to RECUSE the Judge and more delays ... ? Well, a Judge is HUMAN but he must be PROFESSIONAL and ought not be affected by the position/status of the parties - or all information/discussion floating around. SUBJUDICE was relevant when we had JURY TRIALS - but no more when it is professional Judges hearing cases.

What about the JUDGE  

On 30/9/2022 appointed as a Judicial Commissioner - and he was appointed Judge during the Premiership of Anwar Ibrahim. Did a Google Search - and some media reports which mention the Judge who will now hear this case...

Kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi has failed in her nonfeasance lawsuit against the police over their failure to locate her ex-husband, K Pathmanathan @ Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah, who took their youngest child away. In delivering his decision on Friday, Judicial Commissioner Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan said that Indira's claim of nonfeasance — the failure to perform an act required by law — was a nonstarter. - Edge, 28/6/2024

Tengku Maimun cited the Indira Gandhi case as one she still reflects on, asserting that authorities allegedly failed to enforce court rulings in Indira’s favour due to the mistaken belief that Islam requires special protection....In June last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Indira’s civil suit against the police, with judicial commissioner Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan stating that the IGP’s efforts did not indicate any neglect of duty. The Federal Court has since declared the unilateral conversion of Indira’s children null and void. - Scoop, 20/1/2025

No JUDGMENT on the JUDGE - just hope that he will be INDEPENDENT and ensure that Yusoff Rawther and Anwar Ibrahim get a FAIR Trial. 

The PUBLIC is getting impatient - they want to know the TRUTH - they want the trial started, and that the MEDIA provides good coverage of the case. At the end of the day, we will know whether our current PM sexually abused someone - OR it was all LIES.

One thing about Yusoff Rawther is his 'bravery' and commitment to continue his quest for justice against this ALL POWERFUL Prime Minister - He has stayed the course, besides having to stay in detention(prison) when he charged for drug trafficking - whereby he was acquitted.

AS THE TRIAL DELAYS, IT REALLY IS NOT GOOD FOR PM ANWAR... 

We must have speedy trials - as time will affect WITNESSES (memory - how will one remember accurately something that happens on a particular day at this particular time??), and evidence that may be needed may disappear (like CCTV records - that may be erased after some time). Will Anwar now be able to prove that Yusoff was never there by using some CCTV footage?) Thus, Court Cases need to be EXPEDITED - start and end fast, especially for criminal trials.

APPOINT more JUDGES and build more COURT ROOMS - let us at least increase the Judge-Population Ratio to at least 25 Judges per 1 million persons (now it is just slightly above 4 Judges per million)  

And, once a Judge is assigned to a case and have done CASE MANAGEMENT, the Judge should not be changed until TRIAL is over ..

 

PM changes lawyers again for Yusoff Rawther’s suit; judge transferred

By Hafiz Yatim / theedgemalaysia.com

04 Feb 2026, 02:21 pmUpdated - 03:56 pm

Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, a former aide to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. (Photo by Low Yen Yeing/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 4): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has changed his lawyers to represent him in the civil suit filed against him by former aide Muhammed Yusoff Rawther over purported sexual assault.

This is the fourth time that Anwar has changed his lawyers or solicitors for this civil matter.

Separately, presiding High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain has been transferred to the Seremban High Court five days from now (Feb 9) following a transfer issued by Chief Judge of Malaya Datuk Hashim Hamzah.

Hashim issued the transfer last Friday (Jan 30).

It remains to be seen who will now preside over the case although there is speculation that Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan, who is also in the Kuala Lumpur High Court civil division, could take over.

Yusoff’s counsel Rafique Rashid Ali confirmed the change of Anwar's legal team when approached by reporters on Wednesday.

The prime minister had changed his previous law firm from Messrs William Leong, led by the Selayang member of Parliament, to Messrs Christopher & Lee Ong.

Rafique said his firm received a letter from the new lawyers stating this, as well as a separate notice on Roz Mawar's transfer. The new solicitors also wrote in to seek an adjournment to the case for the hearing of its appeal at the Court of Appeal next month, he said.

“This is the fourth time that Anwar has changed his lawyers in the civil suit. I do not have a problem if Anwar wants to change lawyers frequently but this should not be at the expense of delaying the trial,” he said.

"My firm has written to the Court of Appeal on Jan 30, upon being informed of the change of solicitors, to object to the adjournment of next month's hearing date scheduled for March 4," he added.

Before William Leong, Anwar had engaged Messrs Zain, Megat & Murad, and prior to that he was represented by Messrs Jeffrey Lee.

In earlier hearings, Roz Mawar had dismissed Anwar’s application to refer several questions of law with regard to the position of a sitting prime minister to be sued as it did not meet the threshold for the referral to be referred to the Federal Court.

The matter is pending appeal, and a hearing date is scheduled at the Court of Appeal next month.

Roz Mawar had also said that the application had failed to meet the threshold needed to refer the questions to the country's top court.

Yusoff, who is turning 33 this year, filed the civil suit against Anwar in July 2021, alleging that he had been sexually assaulted at Anwar’s Segambut home on Oct 2, 2018.

He claimed that after filing a police report, he was accused of trying to ruin Anwar’s political career, and this accusation had affected his mental health.

Yusoff is seeking various damages and other relief. Anwar, 77, has denied the allegations and filed a countersuit. - Edge, 4/2/2025

Sexual assault: Anwar denies meeting Yusoff, says daughter can vouch for him

Published:  Apr 8, 2026 2:59 PM

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Updated: 2:20 P

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim claimed he could not have sexually assaulted Yusoff Rawther because he was with his daughter Nurul Nuha at the time and date of the alleged incident.

This is according to a supporting affidavit that Anwar filed to the Kuala Lumpur High Court denying that his former aide was present at his residence in Segambut on Oct 2, 2018.

"... My second daughter, Nurul Nuha, was at my residence between 2pm and 6pm.

"She confirmed that she and her children were in my company until the arrival of my guests from Indonesia, namely Romo Nitiyudo and Nella Sandra, and that at no time between 2pm and 4pm did I meet anyone other than her and my grandchildren," he said in the court document filed on March 31.

The Tambun MP also refuted claims that his then private secretary Shukri Saad had asked Yusoff to deliver a speech text to the residence.

According to Anwar, who was an opposition leader then, his security personnel, Norafree Ahmad, also denied that he accompanied Yusoff to Anwar's residence, as alleged in the former aide's civil suit.

The premier claimed that during the day of the alleged incident, he was in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, in the morning and only arrived at the house in Segambut between 1pm and 2pm, before leaving for an event in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, between 5pm and 6pm.

"I state that there is no evidence that the plaintiff was present at the Segambut residence on Oct 2, 2018.

"I further state that the plaintiff did not hand over the speech that I delivered on Oct 2, 2018, at the Mahatma Gandhi Event directly to me. It was handed over to my security personnel," he said.

Anwar's affidavit was filed in support of his application seeking the court to postpone Yusoff's civil suit against him until it determines three issues he raised regarding Yusoff's allegations.

The prime minister is also seeking the court to bar the media from covering the preliminary issues and limit hearings only to persons directly involved in the case.

‘Just another delay tactic’

Yusoff's counsel, Rafique Rashid Ali, told reporters this morning that they will file an objection against Anwar's application.

He claimed this was just another tactic by the prime minister to further delay the main trial in Yusoff's civil suit, which was initially scheduled to begin in June last year.

Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali

"The court has set (the trial to begin) in June 2025, but until today, it has been about nine or 10 months, and the trial has yet to start.

"We will also object (against the application to bar media coverage). I stated our objection earlier today in an affidavit that it is very unfair to do this because the court has to be open to all.

"This is not a sexual assault case that involves a child or an underage kid, but this involves individuals who are Malaysians, including a person who holds the highest public office in the country.

"The rakyat must know what happened. So, we will object to the application," he said.

During the press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex, Rafique also urged the inspector-general of police to provide an update on the police investigation into Yusoff's report in 2024, claiming that he was framed by two individuals.

This was regarding the man's arrest by police for allegedly trafficking drugs and possessing two imitation firearms. - Malaysiakini, 8/4/2026

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Now, Anwar wants public, media barred from court as he seeks rulings on ex-aide's sexual assault suit

The prime minister has submitted several questions to the court while requesting them to be deliberated remotely in order to avoid 'media attention'.

MalaysiaNow

April 3, 2026 9:06 PM

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has requested that his latest application regarding claims by Yusoff Rawther be heard remotely, without the presence of the media or the public.

Anwar Ibrahim has again applied for a postponement of the sexual assault suit by Yusoff Rawther, just a month after the Court of Appeal ordered the prime minister to pay RM50,000 in costs to his former aide over multiple delays of the trial, which was supposed to have started in July last year.

In court filings seen by MalaysiaNow, Anwar is seeking the Kuala Lumpur High Court to rule on three questions concerning claims Yusoff made in his suit against the PKR leader.

But Anwar requested that deliberations on these questions should not be conducted in a physical court, as any appearance by him as the sitting prime minister "will inevitably attract intense public and media attention".

"The preliminary issues and/or questions raised should be heard and disposed of by way of affidavits or in the alternative, in camera and/or by remote communication, to the exclusion of members of the media, members of the public, journalists and/or any persons not directly involved in the proceedings," said a notice filed by law firm Christopher & Lee Ong.

It added that the application should be heard through "remote communication technology", citing Section 15A of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.

Questions on visit to Bukit Segambut home

The questions raised include a claim by Yusoff that Anwar's private secretary, Shukri Saad, had instructed Yusoff to personally deliver the text of a speech to the PKR president at his residence in Bukit Segambut Dalam on Oct 2, 2018, when the sexual assault allegedly took place.

Anwar also disputed the claim that his bodyguard, Norafee Ahmad @ Dekdi, had accompanied Yusoff to the house, as well as whether a meeting between Yusoff and Anwar actually took place.

Anwar said Shukri did not instruct Yusoff to deliver the speech to him, and that Norafee also did not accompany him.

He stated that one of his bodyguards, Saiful Anwar Rusli, could corroborate his claim that Yusoff did not come to his house, adding that his daughter, Nurul Nuha Anwar, was with him "at all material times from 2pm to 4pm when the alleged assault purportedly took place".

Stating that the questions he has raised "are not complex" and require "straightforward and simple confirmation of facts", Anwar said a ruling that Yusoff's claims were false would save substantial "time and expenditure" as a trial would not be needed.

He said this was because the alleged assault "did not and/or could not have taken place because the plaintiff did not even meet the defendant at all on Oct 2, 2018."

The latest application by Anwar comes ahead of a 30-day deadline given to him by the appeals court last month to pay RM50,000 in costs to Yusoff, after the prime minister abruptly withdrew an application for immunity from the sexual assault suit.

Yusoff's lawyer, Rafique Rashid, had told the court that frequent changes of lawyers by Anwar – four times since the suit was filed in 2021—as well as the immunity bid, had burdened the defence with documents and written submissions, resulting in the long delay of the trial. It is understood that Anwar has settled the payment.

A case management to fix a new date for the suit's hearing was scheduled for April 8 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The suit filed by Yusoff, who was a research assistant at Anwar's bungalow office in Petaling Jaya, alleges that the PKR leader sexually assaulted him on Oct 2 2018, just days before he won the Port Dickson by-election.

He is seeking a court declaration that Anwar committed the sexual assault, as well as general, exemplary and aggravated damages for suffering trauma and physical, psychological and sociological disturbances as a result of the alleged incident.

Anwar has denied the allegations.

Just three weeks before the trial was scheduled to begin on June 16 last year, Anwar made an unprecedented move to seek immunity as well as a postponement of the case.

That controversial application was filed while Yusoff was still remanded at Sungai Buloh Prison pending the outcome of his trial on charges of drug trafficking and firearms.

On June 12, Yusoff was acquitted of the charges, following a trial that saw prosecution witnesses bumbling during cross-examination, lending credence to widespread speculation that he was a victim of a conspiracy by politically connected individuals.

Three days earlier, Anwar managed to obtain a temporary stay of the sexual assault suit trial.

Yusoff, who is the grandson of the late Penang consumer advocate SM Mohamed Idris, has said that the drugs and firearms charges were the work of people in power who framed him due to his ongoing civil suit for sexual assault against Anwar.

In a police report, Yusoff also named Anwar's former political secretary turned millionaire businessman, Farhash Wafa Salvador, as among those who harboured a grudge against him.

Yusoff first made the allegation against Anwar in a statutory declaration in November 2019, followed by a police report.

A subsequent police investigation saw Yusoff agreeing to take a lie detector test, while Anwar opted to refuse the test, citing the allegations against him as baseless. - Malaysia Now, 3/4/2026