Fumbling hospital denial highlights conspiracy

It is the unanimous opinion at home and abroad that the current sodomy allegation is a political conspiracy to prevent Anwar from leading Pakatan Rakyat in an imminent take-over of power from a crumbling Barisan Nasional.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Kim Quek

Hospital Pusrawi made an attempt through a press statement to negate its own medical report that shows no sodomy on Saiful (Anwar’s aide). However, its repeatedly contradictory and evasive answers to probing questions from reporters during the press conference clearly revealed that the hospital was merely putting up a show to hide the truth.

In the press conference on July 30, the hospital’s general manager Wan Mahmood Wan Yaacob (accompanied by the hospital’s medical director Kamaruddin Ahmad) denied the Saiful medical report related to sodomy, considered the examining doctor as unqualified to examine for sodomy, and even cast doubt on the authenticity of the Saiful report that is in wide circulation. He made all these assertions despite overwhelming evidences to the contrary.

However, under unrelenting questioning, Wan Mahmood admitted that the report in circulation “looks the same, contents are the same” as the original report. Then why did the hospital go into the redundant measure of setting up a three-men committee to probe into the authenticity of the circulating report - which bears all the hallmarks of typical Barisan Nasional tactic to delay and prevent the truth from emerging?

Dr. Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid who examined Saiful Bukhari Azlan at 2.00 pm on June 28 clearly stated in his report on Saiful that the patient had no bleeding, tear or scar in the rectal/anal area and that he appeared “alert, comfortable, not pale”. Under the heading “diagnosis”, Dr. Osman wrote: TRO Assault (Sodomy) (TRO stands for ‘to rule out’). It means Dr. Osman ruled out sodomy. Under the heading “rawatan” (treatment), Dr. Osman wrote: Advise to go to the government hospital (plan to do police report). It means that the doctor asked Saiful to go to a government hospital for a check-up as required by law, since he was going to make a police report.

This medical report, though brief, is a true record that Dr. Osman had examined Saiful and found no physical evidence of sodomy. Such a report could preclude subsequent medical finding to the contrary, considering that, four hours after Dr. Osman’s examination, Saiful visited Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) where he made a police report and subjected himself to another medical examination, the contents of which are now being zealously guarded by the police.

With regards to Dr. Osman’s competence, both Wan Mahmood and Kamaruddin said they “had no doubt on Mohamed’s credibility as a doctor” and further commented, “He was a good doctor”. With such an appraisal, it is puzzling how Dr. Osman, who is 56 years old and has twenty years of medical experience, could be considered as unfit to carry out a simple examination on a sodomy assault. In fact, Dr. Osman’s report is not only relevant in the court of law, it is also invaluable to the police engaged in their preliminary investigation on the veracity of this sodomy allegation.

Instead of treasuring this evidence, though, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Ismail Omar, called the disclosure of this evidence as an attempt to “sabotage” police investigations and to “confuse” the public, while he inexplicably refused to comment on this medical report. Unless he considered the report a fake, how on earth could he condemn it as an act of sabotage? The refusal by Ismail and other government leaders and officials to comment on the substance of this report, while steadfastly calling for punishment against the informer who leaked this report, is exemplary of the long established government policy of nailing the whistle-blower to protect the culprit.

Isn’t the government’s deafening silence on this report an emphatic admission that it is genuine and relevant? Isn’t Hospital Pusrawi’s feeble attempt at deception a manifestation that the authority concerned lacked the courage to discredit this report by itself?

It is pertinent to ask: Is the present police exercise an attempt to find out the truth about the sodomy allegation or is it an all-out effort to fix Anwar Ibrahim? The latter seems to be the case, judging from Deputy IGP Ismail’s response to Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar’s admonition to police to wrap up its work “as soon as possible” following the explosive revelation of the Saiful medical report. Ismail said the police had been “relentlessly seeking relevant and the latest information ….. constantly looking for new leads.” That sounds like someone who has been hunting down a serial murderer rather than investigating an alleged sodomy rapist who does not appear to have committed the offence – as per Dr. Osman’s report and Anwar’s alibi.

This Hospital Pusrawi debacle is only the latest in series of tactics that betray ill-intent to persecute Anwar, such as:

* Denying Anwar a copy of Saiful’s police report without reason.

* Ambushing and arresting Anwar in a high-handed manner that befits a top international terrorist, forcing him to sleep overnight on a cold cement floor, resulting in a flare-up of his spinal injury, which was inflicted during a similar sodomy charge 10 years ago.

* Police and top leaders harassing Anwar to submit for DNA sampling when it is neither needed nor called for. Anwar refused the requests on the ground that it may be used for fabricating false evidence just like it was done in a similar trial 10 years ago.

* Constantly casting aspersions as a sodomite against Anwar in government controlled press and TV channels.

It is the unanimous opinion at home and abroad that the current sodomy allegation is a political conspiracy to prevent Anwar from leading Pakatan Rakyat in an imminent take-over of power from a crumbling Barisan Nasional. Many consider this a replay of the event ten years ago when Anwar was similarly accused and persecuted. However, unlike the 1988 event when the prime mover was the Prime Minister (Mahathir Mohamad), Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi does not seem to be playing a similar role.

In fact, both the PM and Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar whose portfolio includes the police force do not appear to be on top of the police force which seems to be the mover and shaker of events that are fast changing our political landscape. Like the plot to fix Anwar, his Hollywood-style arrest, the recent gridlock of traffic in Kuala Lumpur and sealing off of Parliament House, etc. - these high-handed measures have incurred the wrath of the people, and all Abdullah and Hamid could do was to act as apologists for the police. Another example was the issue of Anwar’s DNA. Both seemed to have been duped into making a fool of themselves by publicly demanding Anwar to submit to DNA sampling when the government is already in possession of Anwar’s DNA. Did Abdullah and Hamid know about the ulterior motive of collecting Anwar’s fresh blood sample now? I bet not.

The police force is ruled with an iron fist by Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan. He and Attorney-General Gani Patail had played leading roles in the infamous trials of Anwar Ibrahim ten years ago and are now under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Agency for alleged fabrication of evidence against Anwar then. Though Abdullah said a few days ago that both Musa and Gani would not be involved with the current Anwar sodomy investigation, how convincing are such assurances when both remain bosses in their respective bodies?

We have no doubt of Abdullah’s sincerity when he asked for another two years for him to carry our reforms that he had failed to do previously. And we think the current crisis created by the sodomy allegation is a golden opportunity for him to stamp his mark as a reformer by righteously exercising the immense power vested in his hand as Prime Minister and order that rule of law be strictly observed in the resolution of this crisis.

Considering our vastly changed political landscape and the precarious economic and political situation we are in now, any repetition of the unjust treatment meted out to Anwar in 1998 will surely bring unimaginable consequences to the nation.