Malaysian rebel politician Anwar Ibrahim said he was undecided on whether to seek a royal pardon to erase his criminal record, which bars him from holding political office until 2008.
The former deputy premier speaking to Reuters from Germany where he is recovering from back surgery, said he wanted to see study the implications of seeking a pardon from Malaysia's king before deciding whether to pursue that option.
Anwar 's lawyer failed earlier today to have his 1999 conviction set aside by the country's highest court, which two weeks ago quashed a separate sodomy count against him and freed him from almost six years in jail.
A rare royal pardon is now his only option to beat the political ban.
"That's the advice of the lawyers but I think I will have to see the grounds and what the implications are before I proceed on that," he said.
