Anwar is now at the crossroads

DAYS before the three-person Federal Court bench met to deliver the verdict on Thursday on the appeal of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim against the sodomy charge, the Prime Minister was told that Anwar would walk out a free man. 

The speculation had gained momentum and it was only natural that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would come to hear of it. His reaction, according to his inner circle of advisers, was simple: if Anwar was acquitted, the court decision must be respected.