Even though the Yang di-Pertuan Agong must consider the attorney-general's or prime minister's advice when deciding to grant his royal pardon, it would be ‘illogical’ for the monarch to do so in the case of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, says constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari.

This is because, Aziz said, the attorney-general and government were against setting Anwar free and would, in fact, want his incarceration to be continued.

"The Agong may listen to the attorney-general or ministerial advice, but here in this case, they were the ones who pushed hard for a heavier sentence on Anwar.