PKR will use the same 2009 strategy to make Anwar Ibrahim prime minister if the opposition pact wins the general election – force a by-election when he is eligible to contest polls.

This time around, Anwar will first be freed by a royal pardon once PKR and its Pakatan Harapan (PH) allies take over the federal government by winning GE14, said party vice-president Rafizi Ramli.

“When people say our plan is crazy, this is what you tell them,” said Rafizi in his speech to the PKR annual congress in Shah Alam today.

“Anwar will be our prime minister and Wan Azizah (Wan Ismail) the interim PM will free him through a royal pardon. We will have a by-election and in two months, Anwar will be the prime minister,” he added.

Just like in 2009 when Wan Azizah gave up her Permatang Pauh seat to Anwar, PKR will force another by-election to get him back to Parliament and a shot at being PM.

PKR ally DAP have endorsed Anwar as their PM candidate but Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia has said the matter will only be settled when they win the polls.

Anwar is currently serving a five-year jail term for sodomy, a sentence which he and the opposition claim is based on trumped-up charges by the Najib administration.

His jail term disqualifies him from running for elected office for five years unless he gets a royal pardon.

In the 2008 general election, Anwar was barred from contesting due to his six-year sentence for abuse of power. – May 21, 2017