KUALA LUMPUR: Mala­ysia’s prime minister-in-waiting, Anwar Ibrahim, was rushed to hospital late on Saturday night after he complained of a pain in his shoulder and back on his return from Turkey.

Anwar was pardoned and released from his five-year jail term for sodomy last month after a coalition that includes his party secured a surprise victory in the May 9 general election, ending the six-decade rule of the Barisan Nasional alliance.

“He (Anwar) is being transported using an ambulance from his home in Bukit Segambut to the emergency ward,” said Fahmi Fadzil, spokesman for Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR).

Fahmi said Anwar was taken to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, as he had complained of pain in his shoulder and back on his return from Turkey earlier in the day. “However, his health remains stable,” Fahmi said in the statement. Anwar has previously undergone a shoulder surgery.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2018