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Anwar Ibrahim's term as Malaysia's current prime minister is again being challenged by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has suggested that Anwar should have been disqualified from the post in 2022.
Speaking to reporters outside the high court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Aug. 18, Mahathir questioned if the royal pardon Anwar received by the Agong (Malaysia's king and head of state) in 2018, which enabled him to run for prime minister, was valid, Malaysiakini reported.
Royal pardon
According to Malaysian law, individuals who have been sentenced to more than one year in jail or faced a fine of more than RM1,000 (S$305) are disqualified from serving as members of parliament (MP).
It also states that the ban remains for five years after the individual's release from prison, unless pardoned by the Agong.
Anwar had previously served a five-year jail term in 2015 for sodomy, and was granted a full pardon by the former Agong in May 2018.
Had he not received the royal pardon, the law would have prevented Anwar from running for office until 2025.
Waytha's suit
Mahathir's comments come amid an ongoing lawsuit filed against the current Prime Minister by former Unity Minister Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy, who backed the Barisan Nasional coalition against Anwar's Pakatan Harapan in the 2022 general election.
On Aug. 12, Waytha filed a legal challenge at the high court, seeking the court's declaration that Anwar's disqualification as an MP "was never revoked" as part of the royal pardon.
In other words, Waytha was requesting that the court immediately terminate Anwar's term both as prime minister and MP of Tambun, a position he has held since the 15th general elections in 2022.
In his words, Anwar's royal pardon did not include any removal of his disqualification from being an MP, and that Anwar had supposedly deceived the former king into appointing him as prime minister.
The Attorney General's Chamber (AGC) has since overturned the request, saying that pardon granted in 2018 had stated that Anwar's offences would be wiped clean off the record.
"The issue of Datuk Seri Anwar losing his qualification as Member of Parliament and as Prime Minister does not arise at all," the AGC said.
"Some doubts"
Mahathir doubled down on Waytha's lawsuit at the high court, saying that there are "some doubts" about Anwar's royal pardon, which Mahathir himself had signed off on in 2018.
"I suppose that will have to be decided. If it is found that he was not eligible, then of course he would have to step down and not be the prime minister," he said, according to Malaysiakini.
The former prime minister had earlier cast doubts over Anwar's pardon in June, claiming that there was no Pardons Board meeting when he signed off on the pardon in 2018.
The AGC later clarified that there was a meeting held, and that Mahathir had been present.
The former prime minister has openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Anwar's term as Prime Minister in recent months, most notably calling for Anwar's resignation over his "incompetent" governance.
He also participated in "Turun Anwar" protests last month, and most recently claimed that Anwar's trade deals with the U.S. over tariffs caused Malaysia to be shortchanged.
Top images via Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad/Facebook & Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook
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