Judge recuses himself from Anwar’s case

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KUALA LUMPUR: A High Court judge yesterday recused himself from hearing a leave application for a judicial review of the Pardons Board’s rejection of his petition for a royal pardon over his sodomy conviction.

Datuk Wira Kamaludin Md Said made the decision in chambers during case management which was attended by lawyerLatheefa Koya, representing Anwar, his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and their daughters, Nurul Izzah and Nurul Nuha.

Latheefa told reporters that Kamaludin recused himself on grounds that he was not fit to hear the matter on grounds that he used to represent the government when he was senior federal counsel in a suit filed by Anwar against the Prime Minister and was also the deputy public prosecutor in Anwar’s first sodomy case.

She said the court set Aug 3 for case management before the High Court deputy registrar.

On June 24, 2015, Anwar and his family members filed an application for leave to quash the Pardons Board’s decision, made on March 16, 2015, in dismissing his petition for a royal pardon over his sodomy conviction and to compel it to advise the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to pardon and release Anwar.

They named the Pardons Board, the Attorney-General, and the Malaysian government as respondents.

On July 15 last year, the High Court dismissed the application for leave and also rejected Anwar’s application to refer a question of law to the Federal Court for deliberation on the decision-making process of the Pardons Board.

Anwar then filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal and on Jan 18 this year, the court reinstated Anwar and his family’s application to seek for leave to commence a judicial review to challenge the Pardons Board’s decision at the High Court

The Court of Appeal also allowed Anwar and his family’s application to refer legal questions to the Federal Court on whether the decision-making process by the Pardons Board on royal pardon could be challenged in court.

Anwar is currently serving a five-year jail term at the Sungai Buloh Prison after the Federal Court,on Feb 10, 2015, upheld his conviction on a charge of sodomising his former  aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 31, in 2008. — Bernama