Kelantan PKR Youth chief Ezzat Hanuzi said Akmal should apologise to the sultan, who was the king from 2016 to 2019, for questioning the pardon process when it had complied with legal procedures, Utusan Malaysia reported.

“As a politician, Akmal should be more responsible (in making public statements) and build the people’s confidence in the Malaysian legal system rather than tarnishing that trust,” said Ezzat.

He also urged the Umno Youth chief to show more respect and camaraderie for the allies in the unity government to preserve good ties among the parties.

Akmal’s query about Anwar’s pardon arose after the Attorney-General’s Chambers said all pardon applications for offences committed in Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya must be submitted to the Federal Territories Pardons Board, which is chaired by the king.

Its statement was in response to speculation over a purported royal order allowing former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.

In response, Akmal questioned whether the royal pardon granted to Anwar in 2018 had gone through the pardons board.

Anwar received a full royal pardon a week after Pakatan Harapan won power in the 2018 general election. He was freed after serving three years of his five-year jail term for a sodomy conviction.

The PKR president later told Parliament that the royal pardon was granted at the initiative of the then king, Sultan Muhammad.