KUALA LUMPUR 10 Jan. - Jabatan Negara Amerika Syarikat (AS) berkata, keputusan mahkamah membebaskan ketua pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dari tuduhan liwat mencerminkan dengan baik kebebasan badan kehakiman Malaysia.

"Kami sambut baik penyelesaian kes yang telah berjalan lama, yang kami ikuti dari dekat,” kata kenyataan dari pejabat jurucakap jabatan itu, yang dikeluarkan menerusi kedutaan AS di sini hari ini.

Ia menyatakan keputusan itu memberi peluang kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia untuk menumpukan perhatian kepada masa depan.

Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur semalam membebas dan melepaskan Anwar dari tuduhan meliwat bekas pembantunya Mohd. Saiful Bukhari Azlan. - BERNAMA

MELBOURNE: Australia has commended Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on his political reforms taking effect in the wake of the acquittal of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the sodomy charge.

Speaking in Jakarta on Monday, an "absolutely delighted" Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the verdict demonstrated the evolution of the Malaysian justice system.

"I have met Anwar Ibrahim before and this is a good result for him and the process of political liberalisation that Prime Minister Najib has been leading for some years now," Rudd told a media conference.

"As the Prime Minister of Malaysia, I commend him (Najib) and his government for that process of liberalisation open discussion, open engagement on difficult and sensitive questions.

"This a good decision by the Malaysian courts."

At the same conference, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Dr Marty Natalegawa said: "Yes, this (the Anwar verdict) is simply an important result that we always see as an issue that the international community has been following very closely."

"It is of course in essence a legal process and therefore should be treated and approached in that manner, but no doubt it is an important decision, an important result and we have every confidence that the Malaysian body politic will be able to move forward following this important decision." - BERNAMA