Malaysia's People's Justice Party Leader Anwar Ibrahim Takes Oath As MP

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- Anwar Ibrahim (picture), the new Member of Parliament for Port Dickson, on Monday took his oath of office as a member of the Dewan Rakyat (Malaysian Parliament) before Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof. The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR or The People's Justice Party) president-elect was sworn in at about 10 am, soon after the Dewan Rakyat convened for its second meeting of the first session of the 14th Parliament. Anwar, 71, had won the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election on Saturday. He polled 31,016 votes to win by a majority of 23,560 votes in the seven-cornered contest. Mohamad Ariff welcomed the new MP to the House and congratulated him on his election victory. He also said: “As I said on the first day’s sitting of the Dewan Rakyat, this House holds the highest position in determining the laws of the country for the benefit of the people.” “This House has its own integrity. Hence, the role of this Parliament should be well appreciated,” he said, adding that he is convinced that Anwar has the capability to perform his duties well and make beneficial contributions to the country. In the by-election, Anwar had beaten Lt Col (Rtd) Mohd Nazari Mokhtar of PAS (who polled 7,456 votes) and five independent candidates -- former Negeri Sembilan Chief Minister Mohd Isa Abdul Samad (4,230 votes); Stevie Chan (337); Lau Seck Yan (214); Kan Chee Yuen (154) and Saiful Bukhari Azlan (82). Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, 68, of PKR had vacated the seat on Sept 12 to enable Anwar to contest the by-election and become an MP. The last time Anwar became an MP was in 2013 after the 13th general election when he won the Permatang Pauh seat. He had to give up the seat after the Federal Court dismissed in February 2015 his appeal against a five-year jail sentence for sodomy. Anwar was given a royal pardon on May 16 this year, seven days after the Pakatan Harapan (The Alliance of Hope) coalition won the 14th general election on May 9. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA