I did not seek a royal pardon, Dewan told

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has made clear in the Dewan Rakyat that he did not seek the royal pardon that led to him being freed from prison in 2018.

The Prime Minister said the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V had contacted him at the time.

“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong called me and said ‘Anwar, I will give you a full pardon. I had followed the development of the trial. This is a clear travesty of justice, so I will give a full pardon as soon as possible’,” he added.

Addressing the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Anwar said he wanted to clarify the events leading up to his 2018 prison release.

Although he had objected to the court sentence on the sodomy charge, Anwar maintained that he had never sought a royal pardon.

“I did not ask for a pardon. I want to make that clear for the Hansard,” he said, referring to the official record of what transpires inside the august House.

Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) attempted to interject during Anwar’s speech, saying the Prime Minister should focus on the Consolidated Fund (Expenditure on Account Bill) that was being tabled yesterday.

However, Anwar stood his ground.

“I will get to that soon. I know my remarks may be harsh to you because you (Opposition) have been playing up this issue,” he said.

This was in reference to comments made by Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin (PN-Larut) on Monday that the government should let everyone know that Anwar had received a pardon from the King.