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Anwar’s bid to quash Pardon Board's ruling set for March 28

The High Court has set March 28 to hear the leave application of Anwar Ibrahim and his family members for a judicial review to quash the Pardons Board's dismissal of his petition for a royal pardon over his sodomy conviction.

Judge Nor Bee Ariffin fixed the date in chambers when the case was mentioned today.

On June 24, last year, the former opposition leader, his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughters Nurul Izzah and Nurul Nuha, filed the application naming the Pardons Board, the Attorney-General and the Malaysian government as respondents.

Senior federal counsel Suzana Atan acted for the respondents while lawyer Melissa Sasidaran appeared for Anwar.

In the application, they sought an order to quash the decision of the board on March 16, 2015, and to compel it to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to pardon and release Anwar, 68.

They also sought a mandamus order to compel the board to re-convene a meeting and to consider all materials relating to the petition for a royal pardon submitted by Anwar's family members and to give appropriate advice to the King.

Anwar, in his affidavit to support the application, claimed that the decision by the board was arrived at in breach of the rules of natural justice and was therefore void.

Anwar contended that the board's decision was never communicated in written form to himself or his family members who had submitted the petition.

He claimed that the decision was also tainted and vitiated as the AG then was an interested person with a long-standing animus against him.

Anwar said the AG deliberated at the meeting with the board on March 16 last year and this was confirmed by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat.

Anwar is serving a five-year jail term at the Sungai Buloh Prison after the Federal Court had on Feb 10, 2015, upheld his conviction and sentence for sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in 2008.

- Bernama

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