SHAH ALAM, Feb. 4 -- Malik Yatam, Malaysia's first former inmate to earn a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) while serving time in prison, was granted an audience with Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah yesterday.

In a Facebook post by the Selangor Royal Office, the meeting - which lasted nearly an hour - was described as solemn and emotional. It was also the first time the Sultan had met a pardoned former prisoner.

Malik, now 39, was released on December 11, 2024 after serving 24 years under the Tahanan Limpah Sultan (TLS), a sentence without a release date.

He had been spared the death penalty as he was under 18 at the time of the offence.

He began serving his sentence in 2001 at the age of 14 and pursued his studies while incarc...