Recently jailed Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is still the member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh, said the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat today.
Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia told The Malaysian Insider that despite his incarceration in Sungai Buloh Prison on Tuesday, Anwar still retained his Permatang Pauh seat, at least until the 14-day grace period for his claim to elected office lapses under the Constitution.
“Under paragraph (a) Section (4) of Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, the disqualification of the Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh will only come into effect 14 days after the MP was convicted and sentenced,” he explained.
“Because of that, I can only announce a vacancy in the seat after the disqualification of the MP for Permatang Pauh comes into effect, in acordance to Article 54 of the Federal Constitution.”
On Tuesday, the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by Anwar’s legal team to overturn a conviction and sentence of five years in prison on the charge of sodomy against Anwar’s former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in 2008.
The case was tried under Section 337B of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and caning.
