Penang exco member Dr Afif Bahardin's application to the Prisons Department to visit jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been rejected.

Dr Afif expressed disappointment, saying the reason for denial given by the prison authorities was unacceptable.

"They told me my application to visit Anwar was rejected based on security reasons. It is not like I am capable of prison break," Afif said at a press conference in Penang today.

"I am not a criminal, but a state exco, an assemblyman. What more, I am providing services to the Permatang Pauh people.

"I am willing to be subjected to thorough body checks, pre-entry interview, and the authorities can go through my documents before they allow me to visit him.

"As the Seberang Jaya assemblyman under Permatang Pauh, I need to meet Anwar, who is the MP there as we need to discuss matters affecting his constituents," Afif explained.

Anwar, the PKR de-facto leader, is serving a five-year jail sentence in Sungai Buloh prison for a sodomy conviction.

He remains Permatang Pauh MP until the Agong responds to his family's petition for a royal pardon, which if granted, will see him released.

If the Agong rejects the application, the Election Commission will have to call for a by-election for the constituency within 60 days.

Special visits allowed under prison regulations

Asked for details of the issues he proposed to raise with Anwar, Afif said these involved the constituency's allocation and on-going projects there.

The parliamentary constituency receives a yearly allocation of RM200,000 and these go to fund market and drainage upgrading projects, Afif added.

He said that as long as Anwar is the Permatang Pauh MP, application to visit him will be made.

On March 10, Afif has submitted a second letter of application to the Prisons Department to visit Anwar on March 19, between 11am to 3pm.

His first letter dated Feb 27 was rejected last week, and Afif was asked by the prison authorities to submit another letter.

Afif noted that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's application to visit Anwar has also been rejected.

But he noted that the Prisons Department had set a precedence when it gave permission to Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali to visit Anwar, as the latter is the state economic advisor.

He also reminded that special visits to a prison inmate is permitted under the prisons regulation, so that the person could deal with his or her official matters.

"The prison authorities have been very polite to us and have asked me to resubmit my application with more details of my reasons to visit Anwar.

"I hope they will grant me a visit this time as it is crucial for me to discuss with him regarding the rakyat's issues," he added.