Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Asmabi Mohamad has agreed to recuse herself from hearing Anwar Ibrahim's judicial review application for him to challenge the Pardons Board petition disallowing his and his family's petition for his pardon.

Justice Asmabi made the decision in her chambers after hearing submissions from lawyers Latheefa Koya and Shahid Adli Kamaruddin, as well as from senior federal counsel Suzana Atan.

With the decision today, the case for leave (permission) for judicial review will be heard before another judge.

"Basically, the judge agreed with the application and the ‎matter will now be referred to the managing judge for it to be brought before another judge," Latheefa ( photo ) said.

"Justice Asmabi gave the order in terms and no order was made on costs. She also recused herself in Anwar's suit against Election Commission for not being allowed to vote in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election," she added.

Following this, Latheefa said tomorrow's date for case management of the matter against the EC has been vacated.

Unlawful dismissal

Anwar has applied to recuse Justice Asmabi on grounds that she was the senior federal counsel ‎representing the government and then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his suit for unlawful dismissal and sacking when he was deputy prime minister in 1998.

The PKR de facto leader filed the application on Aug 17 saying that he feared that Justice Asmabi could be biased when hearing the application as she had appeared for former prime minister Mahathir and the government in 2007.

In their application filed on June 24 for a judicial review of the board's decision not to grant him clemancy against his five-year jail term, Anwar, his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, daughters Nurul Izzah and Nurul Nuha named the Pardons Board, the attorney-general and the government as respondents.

Their application is premised on then attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail's presence at the board meeting which deliberated on its decision on March 17.

This follows assurance from then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that Abdul Gani would not play any role in the sodomy court case.

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