No issue over Anwar's eligibility as MP, PM, says AGC
PETALING JAYA : The Attorney-General's Chambers said the full pardon Anwar Ibrahim obtained from the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong meant he had never committed any wrongdoing.
The AGC noted that the Court of Appeal had ruled in 2023 that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has the power to grant a pardon against convictions and sentences.
'The pardon order issued by the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong states that Anwar was granted a full pardon and is deemed never to have committed any offence.
'Therefore, the issue revolving around Anwar's eligibility as the Tambun MP or prime minister does not arise,' it said in a statement.
The AGC said any challenge to the election of an MP should be made via an election petition as provided under Article 118 of the Federal Constitution, and must be filed within the time limit set out under Section 38 of the Election Offences Act 1954.
Article 118 of the constitution stipulates that an election to the Dewan Rakyat or a state legislative assembly can only be challenged through an election petition presented to the High Court with jurisdiction over the election's location.
Meanwhile, Section 38 of the Election Offences Act states that an election petition must be presented to the court within 21 days of the publication of an election result.
The AGC was responding to a former federal minister's bid to disqualify Anwar as an MP and nullify his appointment as the prime minister.
In a suit filed at the High Court on Tuesday, lawyer P Waytha Moorthy argued that the royal pardon granted to Anwar in 2018 did not state that he was exempt from the five-year disqualification period for contesting an election after being released from prison.
Last night, PKR's R Sivarasa said such reasoning showed an inability to appreciate the proper meaning of Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, which outlines the conditions under which an MP can be disqualified.
He said it was a public fact that in 2018, Anwar received a full and free pardon from the king at the time, who was of the view that the conviction was a miscarriage of justice.
Sivarasa, who heads PKR's legal bureau, said the inclusion of the words 'and who has not received a free pardon' in Article 48 made clear that in receiving a free pardon, the issue of a prior conviction as a disqualifying factor did not arise.
'It is a trite principle in law, which unfortunately Waytha does not also appear to be able to appreciate, that the effect of a full and free pardon is to wipe away Anwar's conviction completely.
'It is as if the conviction and sentence never occurred at all.'
Separately, DAP MP RSN Rayer today said that Waytha's suit was time-barred due to Section 38 of the Election Offences Act.
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