Losing it in the courts but winning it among the people - that seems to be the reality for Anwar Ibrahim which must have prompted the withdrawal of his appeal against the High Court judge's refusal to recuse over the latter's alleged bias in Sodomy II.

Before yesterday's announcement of the withdrawal of his appeal, Anwar's legal strategy appeared predicated on challenging every decision that went against him, taking the path of appeal to its highest level of adjudication.

That strategy eventually worked, at least partially, in Sodomy I, though it came after six years of languishing in jail...