Malaysia must guard against adverse impacts on the process of democracy and transparency in the persecution of ex-opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, a world leader has said.

United States President Barack Obama yesterday said it is important for the legal system to be open and transparent in situations where a prominent leader is charged with a crime.

“As a general rule, I don’t comment on individual cases even in this country, much less another country, because I think it’s important for the legal system to work.

“But I do know that it is important that if an opposition leader who’s well-known has been charged with a crime, that process of how it is adjudicated and how open it is and how clear the evidence is —that is all subject to scrutiny,” Obama said.

He was responding to a question by DAP assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin during a meeting with the youth leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Washington. Yeo had asked Obama for his thoughts on the sodomy charges brought on former deputy prime minister Anwar — a case which has been criticised as dirty tactics for political gains.

Obama said the undesirable situation would be when the legitimacy of the legal process is questioned.

“What you don’t want is a situation is which the legitimacy of the process is questioned. That has an adverse impact on democracy as a whole. And I think we all have to guard against making sure there isn’t a chilling effect on potential opposition in government,” he said.

Anwar was jailed in February after he failed in his appeal of the 2014 Court of Appeal decision to overturn a 2012 High Court verdict acquitting him of all sodomy charges.