Tag: Royal prerogative of mercy

Malaysia's king has agreed to pardon a politician whose case has gripped national politics for two decades, says new PM Mahathir Mohamad. Anwar Ibrahim, once considered a potential future leader, was jailed on charges of corruption and sodomy after falling out with the government. But Mr Mahathir, the PM under which he was first jailed, just won an election on a pledge of freeing him. He has indicated he will hand power to Anwar within a few years. "It is going to be a full pardon which of course means that he should not only be pardoned, he should be released immediately when he is pardoned. Both he and Anwar were formerly in power, as part of the BN, as prime minister and deputy respectively. Though sodomy is illegal in conservative Muslim Malaysia people are seldom convicted for it, so his case was widely seen as an attempt by the government to remove a political threat. In 2004 his conviction was overturned and he led the opposition to unprecedented gains - though not victory - in the 2008 and 2013 general elections. It remains unclear when the pardon will be issued, and Mr Mahathir warned his supporters that the process of Anwar becoming an MP again so he can take on the leadership "might take a long time". Mahathir Mohamad, the autocratic strongman who turned on his chosen successor Anwar Ibrahim, is now allied with him and seeking his release, having deposed Najib Razak, another one-time Mahathir protégé.