Malaysians are asking why they have been subjected in the media to a barrage of sexual allegations against Anwar Ibrahim in explicit language that has previously been banned from publication, only to be told that it is no longer relevant to his High Court trial.
On Wednesday, the prosecution changed the wording of the charges against Anwar to replace references to the commission of sexual misconduct and sodomy with 'allegations' of these acts.
This put the focus more clearly on the substance of the charges that he corruptly used his position to have police obtain retractions of the allegations.
It also meant the prosecution did not have to prove that the acts had been committed.
Mr Justice Augustine Paul ruled on Thursday that all evidence relating to the sexual allegations was irrelevant.
For the past two months, disclosures about alleged intimacies involving the former deputy prime minister and various partners have startled a community which takes its lead in publicly espoused morality from the conservative core of Malay Muslims, whose opposition to open discussion of sex is matched by many traditionalists among Chinese and Indian Malaysians.