Word: anwar
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...This is the third time that Anwar will face trial on criminal charges. In 1999, he was sentenced to prison for corruption, which was quickly followed by sodomy charges in 2000, of which he was also found guilty but later acquitted in 2004. Some of the key players in that case figure again in the current trial, which started on Tuesday with preliminary arguments after a delay of nearly 16 months. The 63-year-old politician will once again face Gani Patail, the lawyer who prosecuted him in 1998 and is now Attorney General, as well as Musa Hassan...
...Anwar has vowed to topple the current Prime Minister, Najib Razak, who took office in April last year, in the next general election, which is widely expected to be held next year. His defense plans to subpoena Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor, alleging that the couple met with Saiful before the aide made the allegation against the Prime Minister's opponent...
...Anwar has dominated Malaysian politics for more than four decades - first as a student leader in the 1970s and then as a rising minister in the government of Mahathir Mohamad. Eventually, as a powerful and charismatic Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar was poised to unseat Mahathir and take the reins of government when he was cut down in the fallout over how to tackle the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. As a prisoner, Anwar continued to influence national politics, turning his plight into a global cause, forming a multiracial political party and putting together an opposition coalition - all from behind bars...
...though he is no stranger to scandal, this trial, many say, may well be terminal for Anwar's ambition to become Prime Minister, derailing his sterling comeback and damaging the chances of the multiethnic, broadly secular Pakatan Rakyat coalition he leads. "In short, this is a make-or-break event for Anwar," political scientist Sivamurugan Pandyan tells TIME. "Everything is at stake ... his ambitions to become Prime Minister, his political career, the future of his Pakatan Rakyat. It's over for Anwar if he is found guilty and jailed even a few years...
...bias and for pandering to political masters. Neither the Attorney General nor the police are widely seen as independent or impartial institutions, and opposition lawmakers constantly accuse them of selective persecution. Ramon Navaratnam, former president of Transparency International, says most Malaysians are against the trial and against charging Anwar with sodomy. "The public perception is that the trial is politically motivated," Navaratnam tells TIME. "Most people think this trial is unnecessary and it is selective persecution." Malaysian Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan says it is unfair to prejudge the judiciary. "The trial just started...