KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has failed in his bid to strike out an originating summons filed by lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz in relation to the pardon granted to the PKR president over his sodomy conviction and prison term.
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir also dismissed a similar application by the Pardons Board.
He ruled that Khairul Azam had locus standi in initiating the suit, and said there are triable issues that need to be heard in full.
He held that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong exercised executive powers when pardoning Anwar.
“If he exercised executive powers, how can it not be justiciable?
“It’s not a royal pardon. It’s an executive pardon, because he took on the role of the executive.
“There are procedures and laws (to follow) when questioning the executive’s powers.”
Akhtar said the case is not clear-cut, and cannot be summarily dismissed.
“This is a civil matter that must be proven on the balance of probabilities. I am dismissing both (strike-out) applications with no order as to costs.
He fixed February 18 next year for case management, and March 24 to 26 for trial.
Lawyers Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla and Datuk M. Reza Hassan acted for Khairul Azam, while Anwar was represented by lawyer J. Leela. Senior federal counsel Natra Idris appeared for the Pardons Board.
In his application filed on May 13, Anwar said Khairul Azam had no locus standi to file the originating summons, and that it was frivolous and an abuse of the court process.
Khairul Azam, through legal firm Raja Riza & Associates, named the Pardons Board and Anwar as the first and second defendants, respectively, in his summons filed on February 26.
He argued that the pardon granted to the Port Dickson MP was in contravention of Articles 42(4) and 42(5) of the federal constitution as pardons by the Agong should be based on the advice of the Pardons Board, which had not yet been formally formed following the general election on May 9, 2018.
He also said several unconstitutional actions were undertaken after the elections to ensure Anwar was pardoned and released from prison.
Anwar was sentenced to five years behind bars for sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, with the conviction and sentence affirmed by the Federal Court on February 10, 2015. – Bernama, September 21, 2020
