KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — High Court judge Justice Datuk Asmabi Mohamad rejected an application for her to recuse herself from Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s application for leave to contest the Pardons Board’s dismissal of his bid for a royal pardon.
Anwar’s lawyer, Latheefa Koya, explained that they wanted Asmabi off the case on the grounds that the judge had represented the government back in 1998 when Anwar was suing Putrajaya, which creates a conflict of interest.
“The case where Anwar sued the prime minister and the government, Asmabi was senior federal council and because of that, and now that he (Anwar) is suing the government again, there is a real danger of bias.
“But she decided today to stay on,” she said at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
Latheefa added that they will now proceed with the leave application process, which is set to be heard by Asmabi on September 1.
On June 24, Anwar filed a judicial review of the Pardons Board’s rejection of his royal pardon petition, claiming there was conflict of interest in former Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s presence during the board’s disposal of the application.
State news agency Bernama also reported on June 24 they also sought a mandamus order to compel the board to re-convene a meeting and consider all materials relating to the petition for a royal pardon.
On February 24, Anwar’s family sent a request for a royal pardon on his conviction and avoid his disqualification from his Permatang Pauh seat. But on April 1, the government’s lawyers said that the Pardons Board had on March 16 rejected Anwar’s petition.
Following the decision by the Pardons Board, Anwar was disqualified as the Permatang Pauh MP, the seat which his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail later won in the March 8 by-election.
Anwar’s lawyers on April 30 also applied for a fresh Federal Court panel to review its February 10 decision to uphold a conviction and sentence him to five-years’ jail for sodomising his former political aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Later on June 10, Anwar’s lawyers filed an application to have the Federal Court hear retired senior police officer Datuk Ramli Yusuff’s testimony to the alleged conspiracy to cover up the infamous “Black Eye” incident during his detention before his first sodomy trial, or “Sodomy I”.
Anwar’s legal counsel applied to have this case heard ahead of its review of Anwar’s conviction in his second sodomy case also referred to as “Sodomy II”.
