Saya dan Azizah tiba di Mumbai dan menuju Panchgani sebagai tetamu kepada sahabat lama, Rajmohan Gandhi, penyala obor perjuangan datuknya, pejuang besar India Mahatma Gandhi.

Lebih tiga bulan lalu saya berjanji untuk bersama beliau menyemarakkan semangat perjuangan Gandhi bagi menegakkan demokrasi yang mempedulikan nasib rakyat serta menolak kezaliman dan rasuah.

Sepanjang dalam perjalanan selama tiga jam, saya menerima ribuan panggilan telefon, mesej dari Twitter dan Facebook, komen di blog serta SMS dari pelbagai lapisan masyarakat Malaysia dan dunia yang menyatakan kesyukuran dan rasa gembira.

Fikiran saya melayang mengenangkan wajah gelisah, sedih, derita keluarga dan rakyat terutama di saat cemas menunggu penghakiman pagi semalam.

Alhamdulillah, saya bersykur kerana setelah sekian lama difitnah dan diaibkan oleh pemimpin dan media UMNO, Hakim Dato’ Zabidin Mohd Diah memutuskan — berlandaskan undang-undang dan fakta —  bahawa dakwaan seseorang tanpa saksi dan sebarang bukti sokongan adalah tidak dapat diterima. Malah keterangan forensik dan DNA yang dikemukakan pihak pendakwaan turut dipertikaikan kesahihannya.

Saya tidak berhasrat menyingkap permasalahan lalu atau memberikan sebarang tafsiran mengapa penghakiman mengejutkan ini berlaku. Walaubagaimanapun, saya bersyukur ke hadrat Allah Azzawajalla kerana saya bebas dari fitnah jahat sedemikian.

Kasih sayang Azizah dan keluarga; kesetiaan rakan-rakan KEADILAN; dukungan PAS dan DAP;  para reformis dan sokongan dan iringan doa rakyat bukan saja ibarat penawar malah membajai penyuburan semangat dan daya juang saya.

Seperti lazimnya saya tidak cenderung untuk merintih kisah derita silam malah sedia memaafkan. Hanya yang dimasyghulkan ialah kebiadaban gerombolan kecil termasuk media UMNO yang berdendam kesumat dan terus memfitnah saya.

Saya ingin mengajak saudara-saudari bersama rakyat Malaysia untuk  melonjakkan perjuangan menuntut kebebasan rakyat; pemerintahan yang telus dan adil; ekonomi yang dipacu segar tetapi mempedulikan nasib rakyat serta menolak keangkuhan kuasa dan rasuah.

Kami sekeluarga amat terharu dengan luahan simpati dan dukungan semua. Semoga usaha murni kita bersama direstui dan diberkati Allah SWT.

Ikhlas dari,
ANWAR IBRAHIM

From BBC News

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been acquitted of sodomy after a two-year trial.

Judge Zabidin Mohamad Diah said DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution was unreliable and discharged the case.

Mr Anwar, 64, has consistently denied the charges and called them a government bid to cripple his political ambitions and influence.

The government said the verdict showed Malaysia’s judiciary was free from government influence.

Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia but, says the BBC’s Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur, very few people are ever prosecuted.

‘Justice has prevailed’
Mr Anwar had been accused of having sex with a former male aide. He had faced up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

The acquittal caught Malaysians by surprise but not because they thought Anwar Ibrahim was guilty. The trial, dubbed by the local media “Sodomy 2.0″, was seen as an extension of his earlier conviction. Many Malaysians expected more of the same.

Mr Anwar’s struggle against sodomy charges has been front and centre in Malaysian politics for nearly 14 years. But his resolve to become prime minister, first within the governing coalition and now as the opposition leader, has never been stronger.

Now a free man, analysts say the charismatic leader cannot paint himself as a martyr. Without that helping to tip the scales, some young people hope that the next election will be more issue-based rather than focused on personalities.

But the judge said that there were questions over whether DNA evidence had been contaminated.

“The court is always reluctant to convict on sexual offences without corroborative evidence. Therefore, the accused is acquitted and discharged,” the judge said.

The verdict was greeted with cheers from Mr Anwar’s supporters, wife and daughters, our correspondent says.

Mr Anwar told journalists outside the courtroom: “Thank God justice has prevailed I have been vindicated.

“To be honest, I am a little surprised.”

Information Minister Rais Yatim said that the verdict showed that judges were free to rule as they saw fit.

“Malaysia has an independent judiciary,” he said. “The current wave of bold democratic reforms introduced by Prime Minister Najib Razak will help extend this transparency to all areas of Malaysian life.”

Police said two people were injured in two small blasts caused by explosive devices in a car park outside the court as the verdict was delivered. They did not say whether it was linked to the case. (more…)

From The Australian.com

Mr Anwar was speaking ahead of his acquittal today on sodomy charges.

Asked about Canberra’s proposed people-swap deal with Malaysia, Mr Anwar said the opposition could not support a program shrouded in secrecy.

“How do you expect us to support a program knowing the notorious record that we have treating foreign labour, treating illegal immigrants in this country?” he told ABC Radio.

“Have you forgotten and thrown the whole principle of the rule of law (and) constitutional rights to the sea?

“This may not be to the liking of the Australian government but I don’t think they should expect us to support a program that runs contrary to these principles.”

The Gillard government wants to send 800 people who arrive in Australia by boat to Malaysia for processing in exchange for accepting 4000 genuine refugees.

Labor has offered to reopen the Howard government-era detention centre on Nauru in exchange for coalition support for its controversial plan but the talks have so far proven fruitless.

Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott last week made it clear he is in no mood for compromise over the “dud” Malaysian deal.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said that ”justice had been served” with his acquittal in a contentious sodomy trial and pledged to topple the government in the next elections.

”Thank God, justice has been served,” Anwar told reporters after a Malaysian judge pronounced him not guilty after a nearly two-year trial that he has denounced as a government attempt to cripple his strengthening opposition.

After the verdict, three small explosions were heard outside the court, with police blaming firecrackers.

The small but loud blasts occurred within minutes of each other after Anwar left the courthouse. (more…)