Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s King has agreed to pardon Anwar Ibrahim immediately, the country’s newly-installed Prime Minister said Friday, paving the way for the jailed leader to return to politics and potentially become the Premier. It was the latest dramatic development after Mahathir Mohamad’s alliance inflicted a shock defeat on the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, ending the corruption-riddled regime’s six-decade stranglehold on power.
Mr Mahathir, who had ruled with an iron fist for over two decades, cut ties with BN due to allegations that the coalition’s leader and his ex-protégé Najib Razak oversaw the pillaging of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
The elderly politician joined forces with parties that opposed him while in power and agreed that if elected, he would hand over the premiership to Anwar, his former nemesis and leading member of the People’s Justice Party.
One of Malaysia’s most charismatic politicians, Anwar was heir-apparent to the premiership until Mr Mahathir sacked him in 1998 and he was subsequently jailed for sodomy and abuse of power.
