PETALING JAYA: Hundreds turned up for a dialogue with lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (pic) on Tuesday hoping for a more detailed explanation on the case that landed Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in jail.
Despite the title of the forum organised by Akademi Kepimpinan Kapten Hussien (AKHI) – Dialog Bersama Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (A Dialogue With Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah) – everyone who turned up knew the topic to be discussed.
As Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who helms the organisation responsible for the event, said during his opening speech, those who were there to speak about topics besides Anwar’s sodomy trial and conviction could turn around and head home.
“Why are we speaking up now? Simple. For six years the defence team claimed that this is a political conspiracy by Umno and Barisan Nasional.
“We kept quiet for six years as we respected the judicial system. But now the process has come to an end,” Khairy said.
Shafee started his speech with a brief explanation of how the judicial system works and moved on to highlight the important points of the prosecution’s case in Anwar’s trial.
Many red faces and embarrassed chuckles followed the lawyer’s detailed description of the day Anwar was said to have sodomised his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
The main questions from the floor then focussed on the issue of consent and why a 23-year-old young man did not fight off a man much older than him if it was not consensual.
“Under section 377b, there is no need for us to look at the consent aspect. You must understand that we live in a religion-based society and unnatural sex is a complete no-no,” Shafee explained.
He added that the final sexual act between Mohd Saiful and Anwar, was not necessarily the first.
“He (Mohd Saiful) admitted that it had happened nine times before. He said it himself. But that day, I don’t know why, but he decided that he did not want to continue.
“Anwar is a dominant man and Saiful worked under him. This is a classic case of workplace sexual harassment,” he said, adding that Mohd Saiful was given special treatment by his boss from the onset which had made him uncomfortable.
Shafee continued that if Mohd Saiful was charged, it would discourage others under the same circumstances to come forward and make a report.
During the question and answer session, Shafee also reiterated that the case was not a conspiracy, and that he was not an Umno lawyer.
“It cannot be a conspiracy because then you will need Saiful to be in on it, the Government or someone from the Government to be a part of it, the hospital and the three doctors, then you need the DNA experts,” he said.
He also said that claiming the case was a political conspiracy also meant that the judge who initially acquitted Anwar as well as the Court of Appeal and Federal court judges who found him guilty, would have had to be a part of the conspiracy.
“He was acquitted the first time. If it was a conspiracy, how could that have happened?” Shafee questioned.
“It has become a norm for politicians, not just Anwar, to claim conspiracy when they are caught doing something big,” he said.
Commenting on the Bar Council’s statements condemning the verdict, Shafee said that the body was no longer independent but a part of the Opposition.
“Bar Council has become a political animal. In order for the body to be effective, it has to be as independent as the judiciary but that is not the case,” he said, adding that measures should be taken to address the issue.Semua orang tentu nak tahu apakah Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah merasa gerun atau tidak kena berdepan dengan barisan 14 peguambela Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang semuanya handal belaka dalam perbicaraan rayuan kes liwat Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Ini adalah salah satu soalan yang ditanya kepada ketua peguam pendakwa kes itu dalam satu forum anjuran Pemuda UMNO di Kelana Jaya Selasa malam.
Bukan setakat ini,Shafee ditanya bertalu talu berbagai soalan lain oleh hadirin yang penuh sesak di forum itu.
Kira-kira 300 orang hadir pada forum yang diadakan pejabat Akademi Kepimpinan Kapten Hussein yang terletak di tingkat 12 sebuah bangunan di situ.
Kerana ruang yang terhad sebahagian hadirin bersesak dalam bilik forum manakala lain-lainnya di luar dan ada yang melihatnya menerusi CCTV.
Ia mengambarkan betapa ramainya orang yang cukup berminat hendak tahu lebih terperinci kes itu.
Shafee dengan tenang dan jelas menjawab satu persatu soalan pada forum lebih dua jam itu.
Antara yang tidak kurang menarik pada forum itu Shafee mendedahkan keterangan sulit Saiful ' in camera' di mahkamah ( yang sebelum ini hanya untuk hakim dan tidak boleh disiar) senario semasa Anwar hendak meliwatnya dengan permulaan ayat ' Can 1 f**k you today'.
Mengenai barisan peguambela Anwar yang ramai,Shafee kata beliau lebih suka berdepan dengan jumlah mereka yang ramai.
Menurutnya sebenarnya lebih senang berentap dengan jumlah peguambela yang ramai berbanding satu sahaja.
Baginya kalau ramai biasanya mereka terdedah kepada beberapa kelemahan nak selaras antara satu sama lain dan tidak fokus.
Sebaliknya kalau seorang peguambela saja orang itu lebih fokus dan semua ada dihujung jarinya.
Shafee berkata barisan peguambela Anwar cuma 'pusing keliling' dalam hujah mereka dan lebih tumpu kepada dakwaan konspirasi politik.
Beliau pula,katanya, terjun terus ke kancah fakta dan asas dakwaan liwat itu yang cukup kejap.
Atas sebab itu katanya beliau cukup berkeyakinan dakwaan liwat itu benar dan bukan rekaan.
Malah katanya beliau samasekali tidak akan terima tugas sebagai ketua peguam pendakwa sekalipun diarah oleh Perdana Menteri jika kes itu tidak kukuh.
Menurutnya beliau tidak akan terima arahan sesiapapun jika ia bertujuan untuk pekena Anwar.
Katanya tidak mungkin ada konspirasi dalam kes itu kerana jika betul ia memerlukan penglibatan terlalu ramai orang.
Ini dari doktor yang mula-mula memeriksa Saiful,pakar DNA,polis yang melakukan siasatan,lima orang hakim dan sebagainya.
Lagipun katanya semasa mula-mula nak buat pemeriksaan Saiful mula pergi ke Hospital Tawakal...tutup setengah hari...kemudan ke Pusrawi..leps periksa diminta doktor situ pergi ke Hospital Besar Kuala Lumpur (HKL)
Di HKL Saiful kena tunggu lama untuk jalani pemeriksaan.
Katanya kalau semuanya sudah diatur Saiful sepatutnya boleh terus dihantar pemeriksaan ke satu tempat sahaja dna tidak perlu tunggu lama.
Shafee menceritakan semasa beri keterangan ' in camera' Saiful memberitahu mahkamah dia diliwat sembilan kali dari April 2008 hingga kejadian terakhir pada 26 Jun, 2008.
Anwar dikatakan antara lain memulakan aksi dengan gentel puting Saiful.
Ketua Umum PKR itu dikatakan tidak suka pakai kondom.
Sebab itu Saiful menyediakan KY Jelly untuk elak sakit.
Anwar dikatakan cukup rakus dalam aksi liwatnya.
Shafee menyifatkan Saiful sebagai budak kopi yang jadi hamba seks Anwar.
Saiful tidak rela tetapi dia terpaksa layan kehendak Anwar sebagai majikan dan tokoh yang berpengaruh.
Menurut beliau ia adalah sama seperti sexual harassment yang berlaku dalam mana-mana pejabat antara majikan dan pekerja..cuma ini melibatkan seorang pekerja lelaki.
Shafee juga menilai orang seperti Anwar yang tidak pernah mahu mengaku beliau meliwat adalah sangat merbahaya jika memimpin negara.
Beliau bertanya bagaimana jika Anwar misalnya pergi berunding untuk pembelian senjata.
Shafee menceritakan kisah bagaimana bekas Presiden Indonesia Sukarno yang cuba diperas ugut masa melakukan lawatan ke Soviet Union masa zaman pemerintahannya dulu.
