Letter from 50 Australian MPs to the Malaysian High Commissioner
His Excellency Salman Bin L Ahmad
High Commissioner for Malaysia
Malaysian High Commission
7 Perth Ave
Yarralumla ACT 2600
11/02/2010
Dear High Commissioner,
We write to you with regards to the trial of Anwar Ibrahim which is currently taking place in Kuala Lumpur.
We members of the Australian parliament believe Malaysia is an important country, an emerging power in our region, and a friend of Australia. However the trial of Anwar Ibrahim raises serious concerns for us.
While Australia and many other countries no longer have laws against sodomy we respect the right of Malaysia to determine what should be its laws relating to personal morality.
Of more serious concern however is the fact that this trial is taking place at all, particularly given the testimony of Munawar A. Anees in the Wall Street Journal (see attached). We understand that the US State Department has urged Malaysian authorities to resolve this matter in a manner that builds confidence in the impartial rule of law in Malaysia, and we agree with this sentiment. Many friendly observers of Malaysia find it difficult to believe that a leading opposition voice could be charged with sodomy a second time, and so soon after his party made major gains in national elections. It should be made known to the Malaysian Government, that in our opinion, global esteem for Malaysia will be affected by these charges against Mr Anwar. We hope that Malaysia’s authorities will not pursue these charges.
Signed
Members of the Australian Parliament
Dick Adams MP
Senator Sue Boyce
Senator Bob Brown
Senator Carol Brown
Anna Burke MP
Darren Cheeseman MP
Michael Danby MP
The Hon Bob Debus MP
Mark Dreyfus MP
The Hon Laurie Ferguson
Jenny George MP
Steve Georganas MP
The Hon Gary Gray MP
Sharon Grierson MP
Damian Hale MP
Jill Hall MP
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
The Hon David Hawker MP
The Hon Greg Hunt MP
Senator Steven Hutchins
Julia Irwin MP
The Hon Duncan Kerr MP
Catherine King MP
Andrew Laming MP
The Hon Peter Lindsay MP
Kirsten Livermore MP
Senator Scott Ludlam
Senator Anne McEwen
Daryl Melham MP
Senator Claire Moore
Belinda Neal MP
Shayne Neumann MP
Rob Oakeshott MP
Julie Owens MP
Melissa Parke MP
Graham Perrett MP
Senator Louise Pratt
Kerry Rea MP
Bernie Ripoll MP
Janelle Saffin MP
Sid Sidebottom MP
Senator Rachel Siewert
The Hon Peter Slipper MP
Mike Symon MP
Chris Trevor MP
The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP
The Hon Dana Vale MP
Maria Vamvakinou MP
Mal Washer MP
Senator Nick Xenophon
Tony Zappia MP
Summary of petition letter given to Malaysian High Commissioner against Anwar's Trial
And now we've come to this. The impending trial of Saiful Bahari against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for criminal charges of sodomy has now brought forward international attention. Yet one thing I question, wouldn't this petition violates the sanctity of our country's right as a sovereign nation?Before that, would want to make a note brought forward by Mrs Marriette Peters, one of my lecturers in CLP as well as a leading lawyer in Malaysia who mentioned that people should really stop calling the trial "Sodomy II", simply because that they acquitted him in the first case, so legally this should be just "Sodomy I". No sequel guys, just the first installment.... point to ponder.
Coming back to the issue, we now have ministers from Australia, one of the brilliant minds and lawmakers of their country trying to take action against our own judiciary system. One of the things that they highlighted within their petition is that this trial against Datuk Seri would challenge our judiciary's credibility to uphold a fair and just law in this country. They would also mention that if we continue to pursue this action, we would jeopardize our already failing judiciary system even more, especially to the eyes of the world.
As I was discussing with several people earlier on, we have to be realistic here. The action that is taken against Datuk Seri is a private action between the two parties and we as a nation, simply facilitate the law in order for the person (ie Saiful) to take legal action. Why are we being condemned for doing so? As far as my understanding is concerned if we DO NOT allow this action to be taken, wouldn't that be going against the very fundamental of the law itself.
Secondly, both being members of the United Nations, are we not given the same right of a sovereign nation, as compelled under Art.2 of the United Nation's Charter? What I ponder is that with all the efforts Australia has taken as a country to continue to preserve rights, be it international rights as well as human rights, it is funny how these MPs would conveniently forget that we too have our rights as a country and this petition is somewhat a "formal proof of a violation against our own rights".
Khairy leading the pack to send in formal protest to the Australian Embassy
What I fear, as a repercussion of this, would be that for those who do not understand or fail to see the legal aspect of this petition and merely using this as a statement for their own protest against the government, would get excited and start jumping to conclusions that Malaysian law is as credible as a puppy sitting next to a pile of large poo. My other concern is that the protest against the decision of these Australian MP MUST NOT ESCALATE to the point of "mocking or insulting" the country. Our rationale and dignity must remain intact even under this circumstances and any protest against this decision should be made in a manner where other would not view it as plain "rude".
Protesters outside of embassy
We ask for a change in Malaysia. Maybe we should start thinking like a "changed Malaysian" rather than insulting people and getting excited over something before rationalizing it through.
nang if you like the post guys! Thanks!
