Anwar’s status comes into question, AG told to clarify
(FMT) – Attorney-General Tommy Thomas has been urged to clarify on Anwar Ibrahim’s eligibility to contest the upcoming Port Dickson by-election on Oct 13, with a lawyer asking on what basis the PKR leader was freed from jail last May.
In her letter to Thomas, Siti Zabedah Kasim questioned whether Anwar’s release was due to his five-year jail sentence being commuted or to a royal pardon by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as recommended by the Parole Board.
“The Board recommended commutation or a Pardon?” she asked.
Siti Kasim said she could not locate the full contents of the document signed by the Agong last May that enabled Anwar’s release.
Anwar was sentenced to five years’ jail in 2015 over a charge of sodomising his aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. He was released on May 16, less than a week after the historic polls which brought Pakatan Harapan to power. The coalition has promised to appoint Anwar as prime minister, and had campaigned for a royal pardon to pave the way for his return to politics.
The constitution gives the Agong the power to grant a royal pardon based on the recommendation of the Parole Board.
Siti Kasim said she had only seen the first page of a royal order to release Anwar.
“I hope I can have sight of the rest of the order/letter. Has any of my readers read or sighted the full order/letter?” she asked in a Facebook post today.
Siti Kasim has been among critics of Anwar’s decision to stand in Port Dickson, the seat vacated by PKR’s Danyal Balagopal Abdullah four months after winning it in the May 9 general election.
She said the AG must respond urgently to her question as Anwar could be disqualified from being an MP as stated under the constitution, if he had not been given a full pardon.
According to Article 48(1)(e) of the constitution, an MP is disqualified if he is sentenced to at least a year in prison. He is also banned from active politics for five years after serving the sentence.