Anwar is still Opposition leader, Permatang Pauh MP: Guan Eng

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GEORGE TOWN: PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is still the Opposition leader and Permatang Pauh Member of Parliament because he has not lost his eligibility yet said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Guan Eng said Article 48 Clause 4 (a) of the Federal Constitution states the disqualification of a Member of Parliament will only take effect 14 days from the date he was convicted.

However, if Anwar, whose conviction on sodomy charges and five years jail by the Court of Appeal was upheld by the Federal Court yesterday, decides to petition for Royal Pardon, he would remain in his capacity as the Opposition leader and MP until the petition was disposed of.

“I am familiar with the situation faced by Anwar since I myself had served a jail sentence in 1998 under the Sedition Act when I was the MP for Kota Melaka. When I petitioned for pardon I remained the MP for about a year before my application was rejected by the Yang Dipertua Negeri Melaka.

“Only then was I stripped of my post as MP. So, please do not speculate now. He is still the Member of Parliament and opposition leader…but in prison,” he told reporters here today.

Yesterday, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s conviction of Anwar for sodomising his former political aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan and upheld the five-year jail sentence.-Bernama