I will never surrender!” declared Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in his final moments as a free man.
Speaking from the dock inside the Palace of Justice here, Anwar was seen hugging his wife Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and his six children, before being driven off to Sungai Buloh prison.
“My struggle will continue, wherever I am sent and whatever is done to me.
“To my friends and fellow Malaysians let me thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support you have given me.
“Allah is my witness. I pledge and I will not be silenced, I will fight on for freedom and justice and I will never surrender!” said Anwar who was also seen hugging his grandchildren.
Chief Justice Tun Ariffin Zakaria, who led a five-member panel, had earlier upheld the five-year sentence delivered in March last year after Anwar was found guilty of sodomising his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
“You (the judges) had the best opportunity to redeem yourselves – to right the wrongs of the past and put the judiciary on a clean slate and carve your names for posterity as true defenders of justice.
“But instead you chose to remain on the dark side and drown your morals and your scruples in a sea of falsehood and subterfuge,” said Anwar.
Ariffin had delivered his verdict at around noon and the court later adjourned for about an hour for judges to deliberate on Anwar’s sentence.
Although the bench allowed Anwar to speak after sentencing, Ariffin and his fellow judges left their seats following the opposition leader’s outbursts.
They later said that they had issued a warrant of committal against Anwar for his statements against the bench.
Speaking from the dock inside the Palace of Justice here, Anwar was seen hugging his wife Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and his six children, before being driven off to Sungai Buloh prison.
“My struggle will continue, wherever I am sent and whatever is done to me.
“To my friends and fellow Malaysians let me thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support you have given me.
“Allah is my witness. I pledge and I will not be silenced, I will fight on for freedom and justice and I will never surrender!” said Anwar who was also seen hugging his grandchildren.
Chief Justice Tun Ariffin Zakaria, who led a five-member panel, had earlier upheld the five-year sentence delivered in March last year after Anwar was found guilty of sodomising his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
“You (the judges) had the best opportunity to redeem yourselves – to right the wrongs of the past and put the judiciary on a clean slate and carve your names for posterity as true defenders of justice.
“But instead you chose to remain on the dark side and drown your morals and your scruples in a sea of falsehood and subterfuge,” said Anwar.
Ariffin had delivered his verdict at around noon and the court later adjourned for about an hour for judges to deliberate on Anwar’s sentence.
Although the bench allowed Anwar to speak after sentencing, Ariffin and his fellow judges left their seats following the opposition leader’s outbursts.
They later said that they had issued a warrant of committal against Anwar for his statements against the bench.
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