PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is not seeking absolute immunity for his office, says his senior political secretary Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.
According to Shamsul, the crux of the issue was whether a civil suit can disrupt the Prime Minister’s ability to carry out his duties as the executive branch of the nation.
“This is a valid and lawful consideration to be referred to the Federal Court, the highest judicial authority in the nation, with the jurisdiction to interpret the Constitution fairly and objectively.
“It is very irresponsible to equate this legal application with authoritarianism,” said Shamsul in a statement on Friday (May 30).
Shamsul was referring to a statement by Lawyers for Liberty Director Zaid Malek, who called on the Attorney General Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar to intervene on the issue.
This came after Anwar’s court filing last week, which reportedly sought to refer eight constitutional questions to the Federal Court, including whether he gets immunity from civil proceedings initiated by his former research assistant Yusoff Rawther.
Shamsul said that in countries practising democracy, the issue of qualified immunity was always discussed to balance the need to administer the country and an individual’s rights.
“The Prime Minister isn’t above the law, but he should not be a target of politically-motivated legal proceedings, which could affect the stability of the country’s administration,” added Shamsul.
Shamsul urged the public to respect the rule of law and not abuse legal channels to craft their own political narrative.
“The nation has endured far too many episodes where the laws were manipulated for political interest.
“All disputes should be resolved via legal channels, not by manipulating the sentiments of the people,” he said.
Yusoff had filed a civil suit against Anwar in 2021, accusing the prime minister of sexually assaulting him at his office in October 2018.
Anwar is seeking a ruling from the courts on whether the Federal Constitution’s Articles 39, 40, and 43 provide him with qualified immunity against the legal action brought by Yusoff.
