Sodomy: Anwar fails to get royal pardon
Published on: Monday, March 30, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: The decision on whether Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will receive a royal pardon for his sodomy conviction will be announced on Wednesday, but indication seem to point to the possibility that he has failed in his bid.Senior Federal Counsel Amarjeet Singh might have inadvertently let slip the outcome of the decision of the pardons Board regarding Anwar's petition."The Constitution speaks for itself. A member of parliament ceases to exist.. He becomes disqualified," Amarjeet said yesterday when explaining that the pardons Boards had heard and decided on the petition by Anwar's family on Feb 24.ADVERTISEMENT
The cryptic words were taken to indicate that the PKR de facto leader would not receive the pardon, even though Amarjeet might not have intended to reveal this.Should the pardon not be granted, Anwar will lose his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat and will not be able to contest any seat again for five years after his prison term ends.Amarjeet, the head of the Attorney-General's Chamber's Civil Division, said the decision was contained in an affidavit by the director-general of the Legal Affairs Division, which acts as the secetariat of the Pardons Board.The Pardons Board is led by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and comprises Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.ADVERTISEMENT
Pressed to reveal the decision Amarjeet declined but said it has come from the King himself.Anwar's counsel Latheefa Koya said she was personally shocked by the swiftness in which the board had made its decision.
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"I do not see it as a good sign. But, we still need to verify it," she said.Counsel N. Surendran, who also respresented Anwar, said they only got to know that the board had already made a decision when Amarjeet told High Court judge Datuk Asmabi mohammad during chamber matters.Surendran and Latheefa were representing Anwar in his bid to attend Parliament despite his custodial sentence.Amarjeet, meanwhile, was respresenting the Prisons Department commissioner-general and home minister, the respondents in Anwar's bid.Surrendran reiterated that it was premature to comment further on the outcome of the royal pardon petition."This is the decision of the King so it would not be appropriate to jump the gun," he said, adding that they would get in touch wih Anwar and his family to get details of the decision.The comment by Amarjeet that the board had come to a decision during the proceedings in chambers caused Surrendran and Latheefa to seek postponement of their client's bid pending verification of the status of the petition for a royal pardon.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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