KUALA LUMPUR (June 9): Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has filed an application with the civil court to determine whether the royal pardon granted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim five years ago was to set aside not only his sentencing, but also his conviction.
In the application filed on March 31 in the Alor Setar High Court, Muhammad Sanusi also wanted the court to determine whether the pardon granted under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution is capable of setting aside a criminal conviction.
In the application filed through his lawyers at Yusfarizal Aziz & Zaid, the PAS man said that these questions of law and facts are part of his primary defence in Anwar's ongoing defamation suit against him.
Anwar, the Tambun Member of Parliament, filed the suit in December last year over a speech Muhammad Sanusi gave during the 15th general election's campaign in November.
Anwar, who is suing Muhammad Sanusi in his personal capacity, alleged that the statements implied that he was not a good Muslim and had abused his power in his political party to obtain a royal pardon.
Elaborating on the reasons for the application, Muhammad Sanusi said that Anwar - in a court filing pertaining to the suit - claimed that he was given a full pardon, which included his sentence and conviction.
However, the MB contended that there were no such clear indications in the pardon nor the law which state that the conviction would also be set aside.
In his reply filed in April, Anwar raised a preliminary objection to the Kedah MB's application contending that the matter was outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
He said that there were precedents, where the courts maintained that they cannot affirm or vary any decisions by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, including the decision to issue a royal pardon.
When contacted, Muhammad Sanusi's lawyer Yusfarizal Yusoff confirmed that the matter was set for further case management on June 28.
Anwar is represented by lawyer Sankara Nair in this matter.
After spending more than three years in prison over a second sodomy conviction, Anwar was granted a pardon by then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V back on May 16, 2018.
The PKR leader was released about a week after the Pakatan Harapan coalition took over the government. Anwar has always claimed that the charge was politically motivated.
He was also jailed on a similar charge in 1999, but was released in 2004, and the sodomy conviction was overturned.
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