Misleading public on Anwar's pardon ‘inappropriate', AGC tells Dr M
Anwar Ibrahim in May 2018 after he was released from jail on a royal pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, through the Federal Territories Pardons Board. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA : The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has reminded former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that he attended the Federal Territories Pardons Board (FTPB) meeting that decided that Anwar Ibrahim should be granted a royal pardon.
In a video, which has gone viral, Mahathir claimed that the royal pardon granted to Anwar in May 2018 was invalid as it was not discussed by the FTPB.
In response, the AGC today said the FTPB met at Istana Negara on May 16, 2018. The meeting was chaired by the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V, it added.
'(The meeting) was attended, among others, by Mahathir himself in his capacity as the prime minister at the time,' said the AGC.
Screenshots from a video in which Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that Anwar Ibrahim's royal pardon in May 2018 was invalid as it was not discussed by the Federal Territories Pardons Board.
'Based on the board's advice, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong consented to grant a full royal pardon to Anwar, which took immediate effect from the date of the meeting.
'Any public statements that can mislead the public regarding the FTPB's decisions are wholly inappropriate.'
The AGC also said it took a serious view of the matter as it concerned constitutional and institutional integrity.
Anwar, who is now the prime minister, received a full royal pardon a week after Pakatan Harapan won power in the 2018 general election. He was freed after serving three years of his five-year jail term on a sodomy conviction.
The FTPB is chaired by the king and includes the attorney-general, the federal territories minister and three others appointed by the king.
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