Anwar withdraws appeal on bid to attend Parliament sittings

Jailed former Permatang Pauh member of Parliament Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has withdrawn his appeal on his bid to attend Parliament previous sittings from March 9 to April 9, this year.

His counsel Latheefa Koya informed a three-member Court of Appeal bench today of the withdrawal of the appeal.

Federal counsel M. Kogilambigai representing the respondents, the Home Minister and Prisons Commissioner-General, did not object to the application.

Justice Datuk Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid who chaired the panel subsequently struck out the appeal.

Presiding with her were Justice Vernon Ong Lam Kiat and Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli.

Anwar, 68, applied for leave for judicial review at the High Court to quash the Prisons commissioner-general's decision to disallow him from attending the first meeting of the third session of the 13th Parliamentary sitting.

On April 1, this year, Justice Datuk Asmabi Mohamad rejected the application, prompting Anwar to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

In his supporting affidavit, Anwar claimed that he was still a member of the Dewan Rakyat and the Opposition Leader as the petition for a royal pardon to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong had yet to be decided. On March 16, the Pardons Board rejected his petition for pardon over his sodomy conviction, for which he is currently serving five years' jail in Sungai Buloh prison. The Federal Court on Feb 10, this year upheld Anwar's jail term for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008. Anwar has filed for review of the federal court's decision, which is still pending. -- MORE

COURT-ANWAR 3 (LAST) PUTRAJAYA

Meanwhile, Anwar's bid for leave to initiate a judicial review to challenge the Pardons Board's dismissal of his petition for pardon is also pending at the high court. Outside the court, Latheefa told reporters that they decided to withdraw the appeal since the matter was academic as the parliamentary sitting was over.