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KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today dismissed the requests of the government and Anwar Ibrahim to resolve a lawsuit brought against them by lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz for Anwar’s pardon in 2018.
In his lawsuit, Khairul seeks a statement that the pardon granted to Anwar is not in accordance with the law, as the Board of Pardons of the Federal Territories was not formed in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Constitution.
Judge Akhtar Tahir ruled that this is not a clear case that should be summarily dismissed by removing the applications from the government and Anwar in accordance with the Rules of the Court.
“It may be necessary to request evidence from the court. The second defendant (Anwar) also has the right to question witnesses, ”he said.
Akhtar also said there are questions that need to be answered as to why Yang di-Pertuan Agong overturned Anwar’s conviction for his sodomy cases.
“Other defendants facing similar charges would feel injustice as they were not pardoned and will wonder why this person (Anwar) is pardoned,” he said.
Akhtar set March 24-26, 2021 as the hearing dates.
“I will give the parties enough time to appeal to the Federal Court,” he added.
Anwar was represented by attorney J Leela, and lead federal attorney Natra Idris appeared before the government.
Khairul previously said that he was of the opinion that the composition of the pardon board did not agree with article 42 (5) advising the Agong to pardon Anwar.
He said that he had the legal capacity to initiate the action as an aggrieved person.
The lawyer said then-Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad announced on May 11, 2018, two days after Pakatan Harapan took office, that the king had granted Anwar a full pardon.
“The pardon occurred just before a cabinet was formed and this violated article 42 (4) and (5) of the supreme law of the land,” he said.
Furthermore, he said, the junta did not exist on May 16, 2018 to advise the king to pardon Anwar, who is currently the leader of the opposition.
Khairul said a board member, then-Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali, was on garden leave and the Federal Territories minister had not yet been appointed. He also said Apandi had also failed to appoint the attorney general to represent him at the meeting.
Article 42 (5) establishes that the members of the board of pardons of the Federal Territories must be composed of the attorney general, the minister and at least three other people to advise the king.
The Federal Court, in early 2015, upheld Anwar’s five-year prison term on the charge of sodomizing his assistant, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Anwar said at a press conference on May 16, 2018 that the king had granted him a full pardon in his three trials – abuse of power, sodomy 1 and sodomy 2 – on the grounds that there was a “judicial error.”
He said that the pardon was also based on a conspiracy to convict him and “assassinate” his political character.
