Despite royal pardon, Anwar still seeks to clear his name

KUALA LUMPUR - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim still wants to have his name cleared through the courts, although he is grateful for the royal pardon he received last month which allowed him to be released from prison.

He has instructed his lawyers based in the United Kingdom to continue seeking a retest on the DNA samples taken from him during the proceedings in his second sodomy trial in 2014, reported whistleblower site Sarawak Report.

Mr Anwar said his decision not to drop the proceedings in his case would put Malaysia's legal system and the new government's commitment to the rule of law to the test.

“I want to have (my case) set out and reviewed in court and to have it judged purely on the principles of law – this would show the beginning of the rule of justice in Malaysia,” he was quoted as saying at a conference in London on Wednesday (June 13).

He said that this case would prove that the new Pakatan Harapan government was not controlling the judiciary and legal process.

“Who is prime minister doesn’t matter. We are committed,” he said.

The former deputy prime minister, who was released from prison after his royal pardon last month, told participants at the conference that the King truly believed in his innocence.

He said that many others had suffered under archaic legal processes in Malaysia, which he as a politician had a unique advantage of viewing first-hand by virtue of joining them in prison.

Mr Anwar said his experience has made him a passionate advocate for prison and penal reform as a result.

Queen’s counsel David Bentley, who is representing Mr Anwar, said it was an uphill challenge to reopen the case, but he would do so upon his client’s request.

Mr Anwar’s lawyers have alleged that the DNA evidence for his sodomy trial was obtained through trickery.

Mr Bentley pointed out that the crucial DNA evidence used against Mr Anwar was found to be inadequate by the high court, and he was acquitted.

The court of appeal, however, overturned the acquittal and sentenced Mr Anwar in March, 2014, for sodomising his former aide at Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara on June 26, 2008.

Mr Anwar appealed against the ruling, but the federal court later upheld the decision.

Mr Anwar is slated to be the eighth prime minister after Dr Mahathir Mohamad steps down, likely in two years, in an agreement among Pakatan Harapan leaders. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT