[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 06 Aug 1999
Time: 01:17:35
Remote User: -
Judge who refuses to summon Mahathir for contempt now summons Chandra
Chandra... disgusted with media's indulging in pornography
Arifin ... had said those talking about Anwar case entitled to their own views
Leading Malaysian academician and Parti Keadilan Nasional deputy president Dr Chandra Muzaffar was ordered on August 2 to appear in court after being cited for contempt over his weekend remarks on former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's "sodomy" trial, in which a confession was ruled by the judge as admissible evidence.
Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah, said a statement made on July 31 by Chandra was contempt of court.
Chandra had hit out at local media coverage of the "confession" by Anwar's adopted brother Sukma Darmawan who is jointly on trial. Despite the judge's insistence, Sukma, like all others who had been taken to an undisclosed location by police last September, maintains that he was forced to confess using psychological and sexual torture by police.
In his statement, Chandra said the Malaysian media had sunk to an "even more despicable and diabolical level" when some dailies splashed out explicit contents of the so-called "confession". On July 29, The Sun and another Chinese-language tabloid splashed stories which, Sukma said, had been fabricated by him when his life was threatened under police custody.
"It is a shame that elements in the police force, in the attorney general's chambers, in the courts and the media are prepared to be subservient tools in this massive conspiracy hatched by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his cohorts," said Chandra in the remarks which were read out in court.
Judge Arifin Jaka agreed that Chandra had "made direct reference to the confession of Sukma on which this court has considered and decided."
"It appears that the author has cast a serious aspersion on the integrity of this court," Arifin said. "It is not right for him to pass comments." Arifin ordered Chandra to appear in court on August 16 to show why he should not be charged with contempt.
The decision by the judge contrasted with his earlier ruling when he said those who were saying anything in public about the trial were "entitled to their own views". Last month, the judge refused to cite prime minister Mahathir Mohamad for contempt when the embattled UMNO president repeated that Anwar was guilty of sodomy and other immoral acts. Former lord president turned businessman Hamid Omar had then defended Mahathir.
When defence lawyers asked the judge to cite Hamid for contempt, the judge replied by asking defence lawyers to "stop threats" to cite anyone for contempt of court during the course of the trial.
"I hope there are no further attempts to cite anybody for contempt during this proceeding as such applications will amount to a tactic to delay the progress of this proceeding," the judge said on June 24.