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The King can pardon Anwar only with
advice from PM
Media Statement
by Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew
(Petaling Jaya,
Wednesday):
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would pardon Anwar if he
were the King of Malaysia.
He said this at the APEC meeting in Bangkok when asked by a reporter whether
as a magnanimous sign he would consider releasing Anwar Ibrahim on his
retirement at the end of this month.
Mahathir said if he was the constitutional monarch, "I can just grant (him)
a pardon on my birthday".
But the truth is, the Yang diPertuan Agong (the King of Malaysia) can only
pardon Anwar with the advice from the Pardon Board headed by the Prime
Minister and constituted by people recommended by the Prime Minister.
In fact, Anwar can only walk out of the Sg Buloh prison as a free man with
the consent of the Prime Minister of the country. The King of Malaysia
cannot pardon any subject without the approval of the Prime Minister. Or he
would risk another constitutional crisis.
This is not the first time the PM was found shifting the blame to others on
the issue of Anwar's imprisonment.
In his last interview with The Star, he has claimed that it was the
Malaysian Police that have decided to arrest and charge Anwar in court. But
he was quick to admit that it was painful for him to see his "close friend"
in jail.
In the past, the King has pardoned a number of UMNO politicians like the
late Harun Idris (former Menteri Besar of Selangor) and Mokhtar Hashim
(former Minister of Youth and Sports) with the advice of the Pardon Board.
On the other hand, opposition politician who was convicted for standing
up for the rights of the rakyat like Lim Guan Eng was not given such
consideration. Lim was stripped off all his rights as a Member of Parliament
as well as a professional accountant. He cannot even stand for election five
years from the day he leaves the prisons.
The BN government has yet to justify why Guan Eng was not granted a pardon
while a former minister who was convicted for killing another politician of
his own camp was pardoned with his datukship intact.
The question is not whether Mahathir were a king or a Prime Minister. It's
about whether Mahathir is a magnanimous statesman or just another
politician.
(22/10/2003)
* Ronnie
Liu Tian Khiew, DAP Publicity Secretary
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http://dapmalaysia.org