KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — PKR today demanded caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob withdraw his recent statements questioning the validity of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s pardon of its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

PKR legal bureau head Sivarasa Rasiah said the matter had been raised in court and was resolved and should not be revived.

"Ismail Sabri should check his facts and read relevant court judgments on the issues he is raising to the public.

"Otherwise, it is irresponsible for a caretaker prime minister to present the issue falsely as if there were no court judgments on it,” Sivarasa said in a statement.

He pointed out that the High Court dismissed the legal challenges to the validity of Anwar’s royal pardon on October 30, 2020, adding that the Court of Appeal similarly binned it on September 21 last year.

Ismail Sabri was reported by news portal Malaysiakini three days ago as questioning Anwar’s pardon in 2018 after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition — of which PKR is a component party — won the 14th general election.

The Umno vice-president reportedly raised doubt on the validity, saying "at a time when no attorney-general was in office” as Tan Sri Apandi Ali had been sacked and that the Federal Territories minister should have sat on the Pardons Board.

Sivarasa said there was nothing wrong for the King to pardon Anwar soon after PH took power because Anwar had already served over 90 per cent of his five-year jail sentence, which included remission; in other words, 48 months out of the total sentence of 60.

The incumbent Sungai Buloh MP also pointed out that Apandi was not "sacked” as AG at that point in time but was asked to take leave from work from May 14, 2018.

"In court, a letter dated 14th May 2018 was also shown where Apandi Ali had delegated his function in the Pardons Board to the Solicitor General Datuk Zauyah bte Loth Khan.

"I remember having discussions with her regarding the date of the pardon hearing at the relevant time. The High Court and the Court of Appeal decided that such a delegation was perfectly lawful,” he said.

The former deputy minister added that both courts had made it clear that there was no need to have the Federal Territories minister sit on the Pardons Board for a decision to be made as claimed by Ismail Sabri.

He cited the courts judgment that the powers of the then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as published in the gazette, covered the rest of the ministers pending the appointment of a full Cabinet.

"The practice was very logical — otherwise the PM appointed by the King would have no power to direct Chief Secretaries of ministries until full ministers were appointed,” Sivarasa said.

Anwar was granted a full pardon by the King in 2018 for his three convictions — one for abuse of power and two for sodomy — on the basis that there was a "miscarriage of justice”.

Malaysia is heading to the ballot box on November 19 to decide its next government after Parliament dissolved on October 10.