KUALA LUMPUR: The Pardons Board has rejected a petition from jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is serving a five-year prison term for sodomy, his lawyers said yesterday.

The petition was filed by Anwar’s family in February after his sentence was upheld by the Federal Court.

Anwar was found guilty of sodomising a former aide, a charge that he said was a politically motivated attempt to end his career.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin advised all quarters to respect the Pardons Board’s decision.

“The decision was made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. We have to respect the decision,” he told reporters in Jasin, Melaka, Bernama reported.

Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said following the Pardon’s Board decision Anwar is no longer the Permatang Pauh Member of Parliament (MP).

Confirming that he had received a letter on the board’s decision yesterday, Pandikar said Anwar lost his eligibility as a federal lawmaker as of March 16, the date on which the board reached its decision.

“A notice has been forwarded to the Election Commission in line with Article 54 of the Federal Constitution on the vacancy of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat,” he said in a statement yesterday.

At press time, it was not known whether Anwar’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Nurul Izzah, who had submitted the petition, had been officially notified.

Last Friday, senior federal counsel Amarjeet Singh submitted an affidavit to the court and lawyers N Surendran and Latheefa Koya that the board had disposed of the petition.

He said an affidavit affirmed by the director-general of the legal division of the Prime Minister’s Department had been sent to the applicants.

The affidavit states that Anwar’s custodial sentence should be maintained.

The director-general of the legal division sits on the secretariat of the board, which is chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Anwar’s last legal option is to file for a judicial review with the Federal Court. His lawyers said no decision had been made yet on such an application.

The rejection of the petition for a royal pardon came after a series of #KitaLawan rallies organised by Parti Keadilan Rakyat after his jailing. Turnout was low at the latest rally last week.

PAS information chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the Pakatan Rakyat coalition had not discussed Anwar’s status as opposition leader.

PKR will convene a meeting soon to decide its next move, the party’s parliamentary whip Datuk Johari Abdul said. Although PKR was surprised by the decision of the Pardons Board, he said the party will abide by the Speaker’s decision.

“The Speaker has made his decision. We will abide by the rules and regulations,” Johari, who is Sungai Petani MP, told reporters yesterday.

“PKR will meet soon to strategise our next move.” — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 2, 2015.