It is quite confusing actually, statements heard in the past week or so, especially when some are viewed against the earlier decisions made by opposition man Anwar Ibrahim. On the one hand he scoffed at the idea that foreign experts may be brought in if and when the sodomy allegation against him goes a step further into the courts but on the other his lawyers talked about having independent verification if Anwar was to submit to DNA sampling.

To end off last week let's recap some of the more significant decisions and statements made to hopefully allow us to make an informed opinion and judgement.

In talking about the involvement of independent parties, Anwar's lawyer and PKR vice-president R. Sivarasa also gave a condition -- the police must not be involved. This was as good as saying "nothing is going to happen/it is status quo, i.e. Anwar will not voluntarily submit to DNA testing" because the police will have to be involved. If they can't be involved who else is empowered by law and has the expertise to handle the investigations? Think about it.

In explaining why Anwar was not prepared to give a blood sample for DNA testing, Sivarasa repeated the claim that there was tampering/fabrication of evidence during the 1998 case against his client. If indeed there was tampering/fabrication how can they in the same breath suggest that the police should use the DNA sample from 10 years ago? I can foresee another allegation later being thrown at the police and prosecutors if the old sample was used, should the case go to court: "We cannot rely on the 1998 sample because since it has been kept by the police for so long, how are we to know it has not been tampered with?"

My question to everyone reading this posting is this: "If you don't trust someone at all, in this case the police, would you then lodge a report with the police, especially one against the national police chief himself?" I don't think you would but not Anwar.

The statement by Sivarasa on Friday made clear their position on the police and yet in the last three weeks Anwar had made at least two reports which would require the involvement of the police to investigate. The first on June 30 was a defamation suit filed at the High Court against his former election worker and accuser Mohd. Saiful. It said that the police report lodged by Saiful was intended to harm Anwar and destroy him politically.

A day later Anwar lodged a police report alleging that Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan and Attorney-General Gani Patail had cooked up evidence over Anwar's beating while under police custody in 1998.

Then last Thursday, after being released by the police, Anwar claimed that the night before he was asked to strip by staff at the KL Hospital to facilitate the basic medical check-up on him. Anwar alleged that he was asked to strip, had his private parts checked and measured. The hospital has since officially denied that anything like this had taken place, that he was briefed about the check-up in the presence of his lawyer and his consent obtained. You decide who's telling the truth. I know who I want to believe in because I can't see how a limp penis (that is measured) has any significance in relation to Saiful's allegation.

Another issue that was made to look contentious by Anwar was the failure of the police to give him a copy of Saiful's police report. He would go on to say that he thus would not give a report that would allow the police to amend and amend Saiful's report into the perfect report that would do Anwar in. But were Anwar given a copy of that report, would that not allow him to come up with a version of events that could render Saiful's report useless?

Anyway Deputy IGP Ismail Omar on Friday clarified when Anwar would get a copy of the report, citing Section 51A of the Criminal Procecure Code.

It's also worth looking again at what Anwar had said at a rally days after Saiful's allegation, should the case go to court. He was reported to have said that he would like to see credible judges handling it or otherwise he would throw the files at them. Whose standards shall we apply; whose opinions will eventually decide which judge should hear the case? Those of Anwar and his legal team? Hmm......