Anwar's political hopes dashed by court

A fortnight ago the court overturned a sodomy conviction, allowing him to walk free after six years in jail. Mr Anwar told Reuters news agency that he was undecided whether to seek a royal pardon to clear his name.

He is currently in Germany recovering from surgery for a back problem he claims was caused by a police beating while he was in custody.

Mr Anwar maintains that the convictions against him were fabricated when he fell out with the country's former leader, Mahathir Mohamad. Under Malaysian law, convicted criminals are banned from holding public office for five years.

His only remaining route of appeal is a royal pardon. "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 told Reuters.

Mr Anwar's downfall came in 1999, when he was found guilty of corruption for having allegedly abused his power as deputy prime minister.

He was accused of trying to orchestrate a cover-up, by asking police to secure retractions from two people who had accused him of sexual misconduct. A year later, he was also charged and convicted of sodomy.

In 2002, Malaysia's federal court rejected his appeal on the corruption count. But the unreliability of the allegations against him led the court to overturn his sodomy conviction earlier this month.

The decision was welcomed by Malaysia's opposition as well as human rights groups - and many thought it heralded Mr Anwar's return to politics.

But Wednesday's court ruling has prevented that - at least for now.