Malaysia's king has agreed to pardon Anwar Ibrahim immediately, the country's newly installed prime minister said Friday, paving the way for the jailed leader to return to politics and potentially become premier. It was the latest dramatic development after Mahathir Mohamad's alliance inflicted a shock defeat on the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, ending the corruption-riddled regime's six-decade stranglehold on power.
Mahathir - who had retired in 2003 as premier but made a comeback in a bid to oust the coalition he once headed - was sworn in Thursday, becoming the world's oldest elected leader at 92.
Mahathir, who had ruled with an iron fist for over two decades, cut ties with BN due to allegations that the coalition's leader and his ex-protege Najib Razak oversaw the pillaging of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
The elderly politician joined forces with parties that opposed him while in power and agreed that if elected, he would hand over the premiership to Anwar, his former nemesis and leading member of the People's Justice Party.
The party is in the alliance that won power at the hard-fought poll.
Mahathir previously said he would likely remain prime minister for two to three years, before transferring power to Anwar.
One of Malaysia's most charismatic politicians, Anwar was heir-apparent to the premiership until Mahathir sacked him in 1998 and he was subsequently jailed for sodomy and abuse of power. Anwar and Mahathir's stormy relationship has loomed large over Malaysia's political landscape for two decades.
But in a remarkable turnaround, the pair reconciled and joined forces as allegations mounted over 1MDB and Najib became increasingly authoritarian, jailing opponents and introducing laws to stifle dissent.
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