Court allows Anwar to continue with qazaf case

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has managed to continue the appeal proceedings on the qazaf case against his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in the Shariah Appeal Court.

This follows the decision of a three-judge panel, chaired by Dr Md Yusup Che Teh, to dismiss the application filed by former Federal Territory Shariah Chief prosecutor Shamsuddin Hussain and two others to set aside Anwar’s application to review a ruling that they need not get leave to hear an application relating to his qazaf case.

Qazaf means to wrongfully accuse a Muslim man or woman of adultery or homosexuality without the presence of four male witnesses, and if one is convicted, may be liable to imprisonment up to three years or a fine of up to RM5,000 or both.

Md Yusup, who sat with Yusof Musa and Mohd Amran Mat Zain, said the error made by the former Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh in naming two of the three applicants who no longer hold office, was not a material and serious error which could not be corrected and it did not cause defects to justice.

“And we agreed that the appeal and review can proceed by making amendments to the parties involved, with the names of the applicants removed and replaced by the name of the posts or departments,” he said.

Anwar filed the notice of appeal against the Shariah High Court’s decision to dismiss his application to get the syarie prosecution to commence qazaf proceeding against his former aide, Mohd Saiful, on April 23, 2010.

He named Shamsuddin, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir and former Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department Director Che Mat Che Ali as respondents.

Md Yusup also ruled that the Federal Court’s decision on Feb 10 last year in finding Anwar guilty of sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari did not bind the Shariah Court in making its decision.

He said the civil courts did not have jurisdiction to make decisions in the shariah court and vice versa as cases tried in both courts had different evidence and essence.

On May 19 last year, Shamsuddin, Che Mat, and Jamil Khir filed the application to set aside Anwar’s notice of appeal on grounds that it was defective and that they no longer held the posts.

Shamsuddin was transferred to the Advisory Division in Attorney-General’s Chambers on Nov 3, 2014, while Che Mat is now the chairman of Federal Territories Tithe Centre.

Jamil Khir said Anwar should have named the post and/or the institution as the defendants and not the individuals in his notice of appeal and application for review.

The minister said Anwar’s application was no longer relevant as he was already convicted by the Federal Court of committing unnatural sex under Section 377B of the Penal Code.

Anwar, Shamsuddin, Che Mat, and Jamil Khir were present at the court today.

-BERNAMA

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