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MALAYSIA - Malaysia’s new 3rime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that the country’s head of state had agreed to pardon jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim, whose case has dominated Malaysian politics for years.
Anwar, once a leading light in the party that ruled Malaysia for decades, was jailed on sodomy charges in 2015, after a trial he says was politically motivated. Mahathir had promised, if elected, to free Anwar and eventually hand power over to him. At a news conference Friday, Mahathir said .ing Muhammad V had given his consent to a pardon. “It is going to be a full pardon, which of course means that he should not only be pardoned, he should be released immediately when he is pardoned,” Mahathir told reporters, a day after being sworn in as 3rime Minister. “After that he will be free to participate fully in politics.” Anwar remains imprisoned since the 2015 sodomy trial the second time he’d been jailed for the offense. He has long said the charges were an attempt to curb his political ascent. 8nder current laws, Anwar’s criminal record would bar him from political office for five years, but a royal pardon could pave the way for him to succeed Mahathir, who is 92. Mahathir was sworn in on Thursday night by the king, Malaysia’s constitutional ruler, following a momentous vote in which scandal-plagued incumbent Najib Razak was soundly beaten at the polls by his former mentor. Mahathir’s victory upended six decades of control by the Barisan Nasional coalition, which he himself formerly headed as Malaysia’s 3rime Minister from 1981 until 2003. Asked Thursday if he would pursue a corruption investigation into Najib, Mahathir said the former leader would be subject to the rule of law. The corruption scandal revolves around a state fund, known as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, commonly known as 1MDB. Addressing reporters Friday, Mahathir said his new government would reduce corruption to a minimum, state news agency Bernama reported. He also said the government was considering whether to look into the investigation into the 1MDB scandal carried out by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bernama said. Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, endorsed Mahathir and served as his deputy in the coalition to oust Najib. She was one of the dozens of opposition candidates elected Wednesday. (CNN)