KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will not seek a royal pardon for his sodomy conviction, lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah has confirmed, effectively disqualifying him as a federal lawmaker and opposition leader.

Yesterday was the deadline for Anwar to file a petition for a royal pardon, which would have delayed his disqualification resulting from his five-year sentence on February 10 that is effective today.

Sivarasa, who is one of Anwar’s defence lawyers, said they will instead apply for a review of the decision under Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules as a judicial review is not possible for a criminal conviction.

“His disqualification is only delayed if he petitions for a pardon. Since that has not happened, it is now up to the Speaker to make a decision,” the Subang MP told Malay Mail Online in a text message yesterday.

When asked when they will file for the review, he declined to give a date and merely said that they “will announce it”.

Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia previously said Anwar will only be barred from being a federal lawmaker 14 days from February 10, based on Article 48 Clause 4 (a) of the Federal Constitution.

This period would have been extended had Anwar filed for a petition to seek a royal pardon, though those close to him said he would not do so if it entailed an admission of guilt to the charge he maintained was politically motivated.

Anwar’s disqualification will force the Pakatan Rakyat pact he leads to confront the difficult decision of replacing him, at a time when ties between PKR, PAS and DAP are at their most tenuous owing to public disagreements over the disparate policy goals of the individual parties.

PAS and DAP are openly hostile towards each other over the former’s insistence on implementing hudud Islamic penal law in Kelantan and, more recently, the latter’s proposal to restore local elections in states governed by the pact. Neither are likely to accept a candidate from the other to become opposition leader.

Yesterday, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli continued to maintain that discussions on who will replace Anwar as federal opposition leader were “premature”, despite acknowledging that the deadline was yesterday and that there was no instructions from Anwar to petition for a royal pardon.

Anwar’s decision not to file the petition will also thrust the topic of who will contest his Permatang Pauh seat into the agenda of the next PR presidential council meeting timed for this week, which was previously expected to skirt the issue.

The meeting was originally scheduled for February 13, but was called off following the death of PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

On February 10, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s 2014 ruling that reversed Anwar’s acquittal of sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and sentenced the Permatang Pauh lawmaker to five years’ jail.