Retract comment on
Anwar’s royal pardon,
Adam Adli tells Akmal
PKR Youth chief Adam Adli says his Umno counterpart should check his facts before issuing any statements.
In a statement, Adam said Akmal should be more careful when issuing statements and should check basic facts by searching for them on Google.
Adam said the pardon granted to Anwar went through the proper process, including being presented and considered by the Pardons Board in accordance with Article 42 of the Federal Constitution.
“(All) this was widely reported by the media at that time. Akmal is rushing into conclusions and distorting facts that are well known to the public,” Adam said.
“I believe it is appropriate for Akmal to retract his statement. Let us not question the powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (to pardon prisoners) to the point of tarnishing the view of the (royal) institution’s integrity.
“If (Akmal is) not careful, such statements will no longer be just a political attack but can be seen as an act of disrespect toward the monarchy and the country’s supreme law.”
Anwar received a full royal pardon days after Pakatan Harapan won the May 2018 general election and was freed after serving three years in prison. He later told Parliament that the royal pardon was granted at the initiative of the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V.
In 2021, the Court of Appeal struck out a suit by a lawyer who had questioned the Pardons Board’s decision to set aside Anwar’s criminal conviction after stating that the suit was “obviously unsustainable” as it did not disclose a proper cause of action.
Last year, the Federal Court dismissed a lawyer’s attempt to challenge the legality of the pardon given to Anwar. The court held that a decision made in an exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy could not be varied or confirmed by the court, and was not justiciable.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Akmal said he would like to ask the attorney-general if Anwar’s pardon by the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong was brought to the FTPB.
Akmal’s query was made in response to a statement by the Attorney-General’s Chambers yesterday which said that all pardon applications for offences committed in Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya must be submitted to the FTPB – which is chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The AGC also said all proposals for prisoners in the federal territories to serve the remainder of their sentence under house arrest, including former prime minister Najib Razak, must also be submitted to the board.
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