COMMENT | For those who think Anwar has been unfairly blamed for Zahid’s ‘discharge not amounting to acquittal’ (DNAA), allow me to explain in political terms with minimum legal jargon.

‘You are innocent until you lose power’

Today in many authoritarian societies, not only are powerful elites above the law, but those who dare to challenge them – opposition leaders and social activists – will also be imprisoned, made bankrupt, deprived of political rights, or even executed under laws.

In one-party states, dictatorships and junta regimes, laws are simply tools to control subjects and crush political opponents.

Hence, there is a clear correlation between power and innocence: You are innocent when in power, and guilty after losing power.