Controversial lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz has filed a suit to quash a royal pardon awarded to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim in relation to his sodomy conviction and jail sentence.
In a media statement, Khairul (photo) said he had instructed law firm Messrs Raja Riza & Associates to file a writ of summons naming the Pardons Board and Port Dickson MP Anwar as defendants.
The lawsuit was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court at about 4.30pm today.
Khairul said the legal action targets the Pardons Board’s advice to the Agong which is dated May 16, 2018.
On that date, Anwar was released from jail following the royal pardon concerning his sodomy case involving his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
“Among others, I wish to question the composition of the Pardons Board at that time. It was set up wrongly and not in accordance with the requirements of the law under the federal constitution.
“I am of the opinion that as an affected party in this issue, I have the right to raise this question with the court to obtain certainty. Therefore, I have directed my lawyer to take action,” Khairul said.
According to a copy of the legal action’s statement of claim obtained by the media this afternoon, Khairul claimed that following the 14th general election on May 9, 2018, and the formation of the Pakatan Harapan government, several wrong and unconstitutional steps were taken to secure Anwar’s royal pardon.
Khairul, among others, claimed that the Pardons Board was set up within two days after the post-GE14 Harapan government was established on May 11. Thus, it would be impossible for the Pardons Board to convene to advise the Agong.
He claimed that in the run-up to Anwar’s pardon on May 16, 2018, Dr Mahathir Mohamad had a press conference on May 11 where the premier announced that the Agong had agreed to issue a pardon to Anwar.
Khairul alleged that this was improper because the cabinet was not fully formed on May 11 and that Article 42 of the federal constitution states that the Agong’s power to pardon has to be exercised through the advice by the Pardons Board.
The lawyer also claimed that he is an affected party by the pardon granted to Anwar because he is a Malaysian citizen who questions Anwar’s eligibility to be the eighth prime minister.
He also seeks a declaration that the first defendant, namely the Pardons Board, was not properly established on May 16, 2018, and, therefore, the advice it gave to the Agong on that day was invalid.
Khairul is seeking a declaration that the royal pardon to Anwar is invalid and void because of the invalidity of the establishment of the Pardons Board.
In the alternative, the lawyer also seeks a declaration that the Agong’s pardon in relation to Anwar is limited to a pardon of the sentence imposed on him, and should not be extended to a pardon of Anwar’s conviction by the Federal Court.
Khairul also seeks no cost in the legal action due to the matter being an issue of public interest.
The counsel courted controversy last year through his legal challenges against vernacular schools’ use of non-Bahasa Malaysia languages as mediums of instruction, and his complaint over Chinese New Year decorations at a school in Selangor, among others.
He had also earlier tried to file a legal challenge against the validity of vernacular schools at the Federal Court. However, on Nov 11 last year, the apex court denied him leave to commence with the legal action. - Mkini
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