No ruling to stop Anwar from running for PKR presidency, says Karpal
There is no ruling that bars Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from contesting the PKR presidency despite his sodomy conviction, his lawyer Karpal Singh said.
He said this was not a case where regulations prohibited a person convicted of an offence from contesting a parliamentary seat.
"I do not think he is barred from contesting. There is also nothing to stop his nomination.
"He can still contest and if elected to the post, he can still appeal to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) for an exemption," he told a press conference today.
Under Section 9A(1)(b) of the Societies Act, a person is disqualified from holding positions in a registered society if he or she is convicted of any offence and fined not less than RM2,000 or jailed not less than a year.
However, the person can still apply to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to be exempted from such a disqualification under Section 9A(4) of the same act.
PKR is holding its nomination today for various positions in the party elections which are scheduled to start on April 25.
Anwar, the PKR de facto leader, is going for the party presidency despite being convicted of sodomy and facing a five-year jail term.
His representative, Low Chee Chong, who is PKR deputy treasurer, submitted his nomination papers earlier today.
Anwar's wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, has held the president’s post since 1998.
Anwar, who is Permatang Pauh MP, is currently appealing against his sodomy conviction. If unsuccessful, he will go to jail and lose his parliamentary seat again. – March 29, 2014.
