Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim lost his final avenue to be free of the charge of sodomising his aide Mohd Saiful Bukhary after the Federal Court last week upheld the conviction by the Court of Appeal in March last year. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 20, 2015.Instead of changing people’s minds about the sodomy II verdict, Umno Youth’s road show on the issue risks turning the public against the party at a time when Malaysians want to put the whole saga behind them, said analysts.
Although some analysts said they understood why Umno felt they needed to do it, others argued that the move could have the opposite effect.That instead of refuting allegations of political conspiracy, the road show, for some people, would confirm that the whole trial was indeed a plot to get rid of Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.Further, by getting politicians from the ruling party involved in the debate over the verdict, it firms up the perception that the case was motivated by partisan interest, said political scientist Prof Shaharuddin Badaruddin.For its part, Umno Youth said that the road show is to explain the verdict and rebut accusations that Umno leaders had conspired to bring down Anwar with the trial.“For six years we were silent because we respected the legal process and the judiciary. Now is our time," Umno Youth deputy chief Khairul Azwan Harun told The Malaysian Insider in a text message.“Are you saying we are not supposed to defend ourselves when others accuse us?, he said on the rationale behind the road show.Previous reports on the road show claimed that it would be centred around Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah, the lawyer who was made the deputy public prosecutor in Anwar’s appeal against his conviction.On February 10, Anwar began a five-year jail term when the Federal Court upheld the March 2014 Court of Appeal verdict that found him guilty of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhary Azlan.Anwar was acquitted by the High Court in January 2012 after a lengthy trial.Khairul Azwan, however, clarified that the road show will not include Shafee.“Without him we will still go places to explain and rebut the accusations hurled at us, such as the conspiracy theories," he said.Shaharuddin of Universiti Teknologi Mara is sceptical whether Umno Youth would be able to change people’s minds about whether Anwar was guilty or not.A recent poll, he said, showed that between 17% and 20% of respondents believed in the verdict, while 30% to 40% did not. The rest were either unsure or did not know.The government has spent a lot of money through its communications agencies to change people’s perception of the trial, said Shaharuddin.“Yet at the end of the day, only 17% to 20% of people believed in the verdict. So there is something wrong somewhere. So can Umno Youth actually change the people’s perception?"Another analyst, Wan Saiful Wan Jan of the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) argued that the road show could create a backlash towards Umno if it did not stick to just the facts in the judgment.For instance, if the road shows start introducing material that was not evidence in the trial, Wan Saiful said, the public could be turned off by it.This is what happened with Shafee, the DPP, when he gave newspaper interviews and a talk where he attempted to buttress the verdict by providing material that was not evidence in the trial, he said.“I understand that Umno wants to react and that it wants to influence public opinion. The problem is their strategy and how they go about it."Independent pollster Ibrahim Suffian of Merdeka Center argued that the whole idea of a road show itself to respond to public perception was perplexing.“The case is seen as politically motivated in nature but people are not fired up about it. People seem to accept that Anwar is going to jail and they will decide later on whether it will affect how they vote."Ibrahim also believes there could be a backlash and more sympathy for Anwar because of the circumstances surrounding the trial if there is road show.Wan Saiful said that Umno Youth seemed to be helping PKR and Pakatan Rakyat keep Anwar’s case alive in the public mind.“Politically speaking, Umno should let the people gradually forget about the case. It’s actually in PKR’s interest to keep the issue alive and ensure people do not forget Anwar."Since there are no clear benefits to changing public perception, Ibrahim and Shaharudin believed that the real audience of these road shows may be the Umno grassroots.“It could also be in preparation for the Permatang Pauh by-election," said Shaharuddin."In which case, the road shows are actually political ceramah, where Umno activists get briefed on talking points they can use when canvassing for votes in the seat which had been held by Anwar."It is also about the new political landscape that Umno has to operate in, said Ibrahim, where, thanks to social media and the Internet, perceptions are formed on an almost daily basis.“In order to win, political parties have to contest in this field. You can’t leave it empty."It’s also a sign of how the court of public opinion is still open on Anwar even though the criminal court delivered its verdict two weeks ago.The court of public opinion could even determine whether the outcome of the trial could be trusted.Umno Youth’s Khairul Azwan himself felt that way when asked whether the road show was worth the backlash that Umno Youth risked.“My biggest concern is when people disrespect the court by undermining and accusing our judiciary system.“I am equally concerned when my party is being attacked. Umno Youth must defend our party from those baseless PR accusations." – February 20, 2015.
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