Malaysia 10-year post-conviction ban on ex-deputy PM Anwar expires News
Malaysia 10-year post-conviction ban on ex-deputy PM Anwar expires

[JURIST] Former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim [personal website; BBC profile] will return to political life Monday as the leader of opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat, marking the expiration of his 10-year ban from public office arising from corruption and now-overturned sodomy convictions [JURIST reports]. In the country's March 8 elections [results website; BBC backgrounder], the recently formed coalition won a third of the parliamentary seats and control of five of 13 Malaysian states in what is being called the largest blow to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling Barisan Nasional [campaign website] alliance in half a century. Anwar's own party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat [party website, in Malay], ran on a platform of ending judicial corruption and reforming the country's controversial affirmative action policies. AFP has more. The Star has local coverage.

Since his release from prison in 2004, Anwar has held teaching positions at various universities, most recently the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, before returning to Malaysia in December 2007. He has also played a significant roll in sparking protests of judicial corruption in the country by releasing video excerpts [JURIST reports] allegedly showing former Malaysian Chief Justice Dzaiddin Abdullah admitting to accepting bribes in return for judicial appointments.