KUALA LUMPUR: The royal pardon granted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 2018 fully restored his eligibility to contest elections and hold office, according to constitutional law expert Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi.
He stated that the pardon under Article 42(1) of the Federal Constitution erased all legal consequences from Anwar’s previous conviction.
“Once there was a free pardon under Article 42(1), all disqualifications under Article 48(1) were removed and there was absolutely no need for His Majesty to issue a new, second order to lift the disqualification,” he explained in an op-ed to Bernama.
Shad Saleem addressed recent claims by opposition leaders questioning Anwar’s eligibility under Articles 48(1)(e) and 48(3) of the Federal Constitution.
He clarified that a full pardon not only releases a person from serving a sentence but also removes legal disqualifications.
“It includes those that would otherwise bar the individual from contesting or holding office as a Member of Parliament (MP). Once there is a free pardon, all disqualifications under Article 48(1) are removed,” he said.
He cited case law from Malaysia and other Commonwealth countries, including Anwar Ibrahim (2018) and Jeyaratnam v AG (1990) from Singapore.
A free pardon “wipes the slate clean,” restoring the individual’s full legal standing, he noted.
Shad Saleem also referenced the 1969 case of DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, where a royal pardon reinstated his MP position after disqualification due to a technical breach.
“If this view is correct, that a free pardon wipes the conviction off the slate, then the Article 48(3) removal of disqualification order is absolutely unnecessary,” he concluded. - Bernama
