Court affirms Dr Munawar conviction

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s former speech writer Dr Munawar Anees on Thursday failed in his final avenue to remit the appeal relating to a sodomy charge to the High Court for arguments on merit, after the Federal Court here dismissed his application.
Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi who sat with Federal Court Judges Datuk Nik Hashim Nik Abdul Rahman and Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin unanimously dismissed Dr Munawar’s application to remit his appeal to the High Court.
Justice Zaki said the grounds for the dismissal would be given later in a written judgment.
Dr Munawar, 60, was present in court.
With the decision, the conviction against Dr Munawar, who had served six months in prison in 1998 after he pleaded guilty to allowing Anwar to sodomise him, is affirmed.
Dr Munawar had served his sentence but filed the appeal in a bid to clear his name.
On Tuesday, Dr Munawar’s counsel, Manjit Singh Dhillon, asked the Federal Court to review the Court of Appeal’s decision on the High Court’s dismissal of Dr Munawar’s appeal against the conviction and sentence, and to remit the appeal to the High Court to allow him to argue on its merits.
High Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Maarop had on Sept 9, 2003 struck out Dr Munawar’s appeal without hearing the merits of the case on grounds that Dr Munawar had failed to appear at any of the appeal proceedings.
The Court of Appeal had also dismissed Dr Munawar’s appeal against the High Court decision without giving any grounds.
He filed for the review to the Federal Court under Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995 which provides the Federal Court with the inherent powers to hear any application or to make any orders as may be necessary to prevent injustice or to prevent an abuse of the process of the Court.
Normally, when a case originates at the subordinate courts, the final appeal is at the Court of Appeal. - Bernama

tunku : courts reaffirms that munawar was sodomized by anwar.that is the fact.but anwar always helps his lovers, he puts munawar as a project management consultant with the US-based John Templeton Foundation.