Malaysia's highest court has ruled that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim can take legal action to challenge his 1998 sacking as deputy prime minister, his lawyer confirmed Tuesday.On Monday, the Federal Court decided unanimously that Anwar would be allowed to challenge the firing by his former mentor, Malaysia's and ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar claims the dismissal was unconstitutional as Mahathir did not obtain the approval of the king, and will be seeking damages from the government, lawyer Karpal Singh said. Anwar, who now leads an opposition coalition of three parties, was sacked after a fallout with Mahathir. He was also found guilty of, and jailed for, sodomy and corruption charges which he claims were trumped up. Anwar was released from prison in 2004, after his sodomy conviction was overturned and he had finished serving the corruption sentence.