KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim will receive a full royal pardon and be released from prison on Tuesday, his daughter Nurul Izzah told Channel NewsAsia on Saturday (May 12).



Channel NewsAsia understands that the paperwork for the release is being arranged.



BREAKING: @anwaribrahim to be released from prison on Tuesday, his daughter Nurul Izzah tells @ChannelNewsAsia. — Sumisha Naidu (@sumishanaidu) May 12, 2018

Anwar, 70, is currently in Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital where he has been recuperating after a surgery. He is serving a five-year jail term following a conviction for sodomy, and was due to be released on Jun 8.

Under Malaysian law, Anwar is disqualified from running for office for five years after his release, unless he is pardoned by the King.

His impending release from prison would pave the way for him to return to politics and potentially become prime minister.



New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had said in his first media address after being elected that he would honour his agreement to get his former nemesis-turned-ally a full royal pardon.

However, Anwar will have to win a by-election or be elected senator in order for him to take over as prime minister.

His wife and proposed deputy prime minister, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, had told Channel NewsAsia in an interview earlier this year that she will probably be the one to give up her Pandan seat for Anwar - paving the way for a by-election.

