KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian judge on Monday ordered Prime Minister Najib Razak and other key witnesses to submit to interviews with lawyers defending opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in his sodomy trial.
Anwar had been expected to take the stand, possibly as early as Monday, to defend himself against charges he sodomized a young male aide in 2008.
But Judge Zabidin Mohamed Diah of the Kuala Lumpur High Court put the proceedings back to August 15 after he granted a request by Anwar’s team to seek interviews with witnesses, including the prime minister.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Anwar called the ruling a “surprise.”
“Until now, prime ministers would make scurrilous attacks on peoples’ characters, but would not have the courage to be interviewed and come to court. So we will see. Here is a court order,” Anwar said.
He added that despite the judge’s decision, he still believed that he had been denied a fair trial.
Aides to Najib could not be immediately reached for comment.
Anwar’s accuser, Mohamad Saiful Bu-khari Azlan, has said that he met with Najib before filing a police report on the sodomy accusation.
The defense says that this indicates the case was manufactured and has sought interviews with Najib, his wife Rosmah Mansor, and others before presenting their case and calling witnesses in court.
The defense has said that those interviewed may be called to take the stand in the trial.
Noorin Badaruddin, a member of the prosecution team, said that Monday’s ruling meant that witnesses sought by Anwar would be compelled to come to court for interviews with the defense, but would not be legally bound to offer any testimony.
The one-time premier-in-waiting, who will turn 64 on Wednesday, has blasted the charges as a political frame-up.
He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of sodomy, which is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
Anwar’s legal battles have dominated Malaysian politics for years.
Malaysia was once one of Asia’s most politically stable countries under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who groomed Anwar to one day take the helm of the economically vibrant, ethnically diverse nation.
But a bitter policy split amid the 1997 Asian currency crisis led to Anwar’s arrest the following year—and later his conviction—on separate sodomy and corruption charges widely seen as politically motivated.
Anwar was freed in 2004 after that sodomy conviction was overturned and he sparked a resurgence by the political opposition, which achieved historic gains against the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in 2008 general elections.
The new sodomy accusation also emerged that year.
Anwar has alleged that the ruling coalition, which has governed Malaysia for half a century and is now headed by Najib, concocted the case to stall the opposition’s gains.
