KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — The Home Ministry has confirmed to Parliament that former Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can be freed from his prison sentence on June 8 this year.

In a written reply to Alor Setar MP (PKR) Gooi Hsiao Leung, Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said Anwar’s release is calculated based on the Prison Act 1995 and the Prisons Regulations 2000, allowing a one-third remission of his prison sentence for good behaviour.

"The Act and the Regulations allow a one-third remission of sentence for convicts imprisoned for more than one month. If the date of release falls on a weekend or a public holiday, the convict is released the day before.

"Therefore, based on the calculations and remission, Anwar’s release falls on June 10, 2018 (Sunday) but the day before is a Saturday, so Anwar can be released on June 8, 2018 (Friday).

"However, the sentence and release date of a convict can change if the convict violates prison rules which disqualifies the remission under the Prison Regulation 2000,” said Zahid.

Earlier in January, Zahid’s deputy Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed pointed out that Anwar’s statements from the prison might affect his sentence.