The King can pardon Anwar,but the Government and civil service are required by law to ignore the King.

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Tuanku Agong has power to do anything , that is true.However, His Majesty's powers are fettered and he has not the power to quash any conviction or expunge a criminal record. The  Malaysian Constitution  does not provide for it.There is no explicit reference to the relevant legislation, in substance or form.

 Additionally, readers are invited to think of the alternative: a monarch who can forgive can also condemn,and it is clearly not the case in Malaysia that any of the monarchs can condemn anyone to jail or subject them to any penalty by mere decree. Having said, that there are of course examples of monarchs attempting to do so, and being allowed to get away with it. 
Consequently His Majesty's decree that he is wiping Anwar Ibarhim's criminal record clean is meaningless. To put this another way , His Majesty's decree has granted Anwar Ibrahim with nothing of any legal substance or value.

That is not to say that His Majesty's decree is worthless. His Majesty is the monarch, and he can grant anyone ,anything.In this case His Majesty has granted bragging rights to one man.Unfortunately it has national consequences. 

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