The petition to the King for a royal pardon for jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim does not imply his guilt, but was made because his trial and conviction were unjust, his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said last night.
Speaking in public for the first time since the Federal Court verdict upholding her husband's conviction of sodomising his former aide, Dr Wan Azizah said the family had thought long and hard about what to do after the court's decision on February 10.
"After Anwar's conviction, the whole family was thinking about how we were going to proceed with finding ways to seek a royal pardon.
"We are not seeking a royal pardon because he is guilty. He is not guilty. The pardon was sought because there was a miscarriage of justice," said the PKR president at a fund-raising dinner and ceramah organised by the March2Freedom movement which is running the #FreeAnwar campaign.
PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (front left) being greeted by a supporter as she arrives at the march2freedom fund-raising event in Kajang yesterday.
The event, which drew over 1,000 people in heavy rain, was held in Kajang, Selangor, where Dr Wan Azizah is the state assemblyperson.
Anwar's family submitted a petition for a royal pardon at the eleventh hour to the King's palace, Istana Negara on February 24, the last day to do so of the 14-day deadline since the court's verdict.
Legal opinion has since been divided on whether the appeal would work with some lawyers saying Anwar should have applied for it himself while others say there is nothing in law to prevent the family from doing so on his behalf. Anwar himself had not directed his lawyers to do so.
Dr Wan Azizah said she was strengthened by her children and also by Anwar whom she said would never give up.
"They can imprison him but they cannot imprison his spirit," she said.
With her last night were her three daughters, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, Nurul Nuha who heads the March2Freedom campaign, and Nurul Ilham.
Each daughter took turns telling the crowd about their father.
Nurul Ilham recalled what she felt in 1998 when she saw her father being taken away by the police at night. Anwar was sacked from government as deputy prime minister then and subsequently faced his first sodomy charge.
"I was 11 when it happened. When I saw him at the court with a black eye I cried. He calmed me and told me to stop crying and be strong for the family," said Nurul Ilham, referring to the injury Anwar sustained from being beaten while in police custody then.
Nurul Nuha told the crowd about Anwar's favourite P.Ramlee song and almost came to tears as she recited the lyrics.
PKR's Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar speaking out against her father Datuk Seri Anwar's Ibrahim's sodomy conviction at the #march2freedom fund-raising dinner in Kajang yesterday.
Nurul Izzah, the eldest of Anwar's six children, then said that the March2Freedom campaign was not only for their father but others who have been targeted for expressing their views, and named several opposition politicians who have been charged or investigated under the Sedition Act.
The ceramah heard other speeches on current issues, such as the debt-ridden government-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), and the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu who allegedly had links to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The March2Freedom campaign includes the signing of a petition to pressure the White House to have Anwar freed from prison.
A street demonstration led by PKR Youth's #KitaLawan will take place this Saturday (March 7) to seek Anwar's freedom as well as to call for Najib's resignation.
The rally which will be held in front of the Sogo shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur, is being held on the streets instead of in a stadium as suggested by the police.
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