The daughter of Malaysia's jailed opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim is confident her father will be released soon, adding "it's not easy to trust a former dictator".
"It would really help if my father was released, because I think he is the pivotal force behind the results, behind the reform movement," Nurul Izzah Anwar told the ABC in an exclusive interview shortly after she had visited her father, who remains under guard in hospital.
Ms Anwar is a member of parliament, holding her father's old seat.
Anwar Ibrahim is due to be released shortly, with new Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad saying the nation's King has agreed to grant a full pardon to Mr Anwar.
That paves the way for him to enter parliament and eventually take over the reins of government from Dr Mahathir.
Mr Anwar has been jailed twice on politically motivated charges of sodomy.
He was first imprisoned under the original Mahathir government, and then jailed again under the rule of Najib Razak.
"Dr Mahathir Mohammad just announced today a commitment, the King is ready, the issue is of course we also want to make sure any other political prosecutions are quashed and other leaders who are also unfairly detained are released," Ms Anwar said.
"This was the pledge, it was the promise, he's an innocent man, he's been detained a total of 11 years, since he was younger until today."
Ms Anwar was asked if she trusted the Prime Minister's pledge to hand over power to her father.
"I believe this coalition will only survive unless there is a sufficient degree of trust," she said.
"It's not easy trusting a former dictator, but he has allocated room for divergent views he has adopted, quite committedly to the agenda for reforms, and I'm here to make sure I can check on possible excesses.
"I'm not concerned so much on who becomes the prime minister — I've always said we need a good prime minister."
She spoke of the toll on her own family during her father's trials and imprisonment.
"There's been many, many years of pain, but it's not just us — many others continue to face the same degree of persecution," Ms Anwar said.
"I am just committed to the reform agenda. I do not want anyone else to fall victim, including Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak (former prime minister Mr Najib).
"Everyone must be equal under the laws of this country. And to have to give a sense of justice they are accorded the same right under the Malaysian sun."
