A tale of two Opposition Leaders being charged for doing wrong

Lets now talk about two Opposition Leaders on how they handle criminal charges brought against them by the Attorney General; one is the Opposition Leader of Selangor State DUN and former Selangor Menteri Besar, Dr Khir Toyo while the other is the Opposition Leader of our Malaysian Parliament and former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim.


Lets start with Dr Khir first, the story here:


Khir Toyo arrested, charged and claimed trial for land fraud


Let the court clear my name, says Khir


Khir Toyo quits as S'gor Opposition leader


There you see friends, Khir Toyo was charged by the Attorney General, and he said that he will defend himself in court and even resigned from the post of State Opposition Leader but still remaining as a state Assemblyman(ADUN). I think Dr Khir is a brave man indeed he knows that as a politician being charged in the courts will only bring his credibility and that of his party in disrepute. He just request that the trial will be held as soon as possible so that he will have the chance to defend himself. Good luck to Dr Khir, if he is successful in his defence then he will be released of the charge, but if found guilty he is looking at 2 years jail time and the end of his political career.


Compare Dr Khir with another Opposition Leader, Anwar Ibrahim who when words came at the end of June 2008 that he will be charged for sodomy a second time, took refuge in the Turkish Embassy in KL claiming that his life is in danger, read here and here.


The charge for alleged sodomy of his former assistant Saiful, was read out in the Sessions Court in August 2008 after which it was then transferred to the High Court after much resistance from Anwar's defence team. The High Court trial started in early February 2009 but until early December 2010 and about 27 postponements and two requests by Anwar to recuse the presiding Judge and another to replace the whole Prosecuting team later, the trial is still not over.


In between, Anwar was able to freely go round the world, to the US, Europe even Australia to proclaim his innocence. Unlike Dr Khir, he has not given up his Opposition Leader post. Unlike Dr Khir, Anwar prefer to clear his name outside the courts using foreigners to speak about his innocence. Anwar's next Court date will be on 21 January 2011, let us all hope that there will be less postponements in 2011. Good luck to Anwar, if he is innocent then who knows what his future will be, but if he is found guilty, this will be the end of his political road and his journey to the highest political office of this blessed nation.


Just a tale between two Opposition Leaders in Malaysia.