Anwar, who became the country’s leader in 2022, is fighting a suit filed by his former aide Yusoff Rawther, who accused the 78-year-old of molesting him in 2018.
His lawyers, however, asked Malaysia’s Federal Court on Tuesday to affirm that the prime minister enjoyed immunity from civil suits, which would otherwise impede his executive function and “undermine the constitutional separation of powers”.
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim said a potential ruling in favour of Anwar’s legal defence could have a far-reaching effect on the rule of law in the country.
“It’s comparable to Donald Trump’s recent referral to the US Supreme Court on his claim for immunity,” Zaid said on Facebook on Tuesday evening.
The former leader in Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) party, who left in 2010 after alleging fraud in the party’s election, said: “There, the [US] court ruled that the immunity does not extend to unofficial conduct and personal misconduct.”
