After three years in prison, Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim is now a free man after receiving a royal pardon.
The 70-year-old Anwar walked out of a hospital in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday where he was receiving treatment for a shoulder injury, and headed for a meeting with King Sultan Muhammad V.
Anwar was convicted in 2015 on charges of corruption and sodomy that were widely denounced as politically motivated. He served as deputy prime minister and finance minister under newly-elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad during the latter's first tenure as leader, and was seen as Mahathir's heir-apparent until he was fired in 1999.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, center, waves next to newly appointed Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, left, after a press conference to announce his cabinet members in Petaling Jaya, May 12, 2018.
The two men reconciled and joined forces to form the Alliance of Hope opposition party that scored an upset victory in last week's parliamentary elections, ousting Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Barisan Nasional coalition, which ruled Malaysia uninterrupted for over six decades.
The election made the 92-year-old Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia with an iron fist from 1981 to 2003, the world's oldest elected leader. He says he will run the government for two years before turning over the reins to Anwar. Anwar must first be re-elected to parliament before he can succeed Mahathir.