The Federal Court has fixed Aug 10 - instead of Aug 9 - to hear Anwar Ibrahim's application to review its own decision on the jailed politician's conviction and sentence for corruption.

Anwar's lawyer Sankara Nair told malaysiakini that he had made a mistake when he received a fax from the court registry today regarding the new date.

He had thought that it was on Anwar's sodomy appeal, which the court has indefinitely postponed yesterday. It was to deliver its decision today. No reasons were however given for the adjournment.

Anwar had filed the application in August 2002, seeking leave from the country's highest court to review its own decision, which upheld the April 14, 1999 High Court verdict finding him guilty of corruption.

While there is no other avenue for appeal against a decision by the Federal Court, aggrieved parties can apply to the same court for a review of its own decision under a new set of judges.

Its three-member panel - then Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, Sabah and Sarawak Chief judge Steve Shim and Justice Haidar Mohd Nor (now the Chief Judge of Malaya) - had backed the decision by High Court judge S Augustine Paul (now a Court of Appeal judge) to sentence Anwar to six years' jail for corrupt practice.

The last time the application for the Federal Court review was mentioned was on March 18 last year, when the court adjourned the case, following a request by attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail for a five-member panel, instead of three, to hear the application.

Sodomy appeal

As for Anwar's sodomy appeal, a three-man Federal Court bench consisting of justices Abdul Hamid Mohamad, Rahman Hussein and Tengku Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud heard extensive submissions from lawyers two months ago.

After hearing the appeal, the judges said that they would announce their decision 'as soon as possible'.

The appeal will be Anwar's last chance to have his nine-year sentence quashed, on the grounds that the conduct of the trial four years ago was deeply-flawed.

Anwar is appealing against a High Court decision on Aug 8, 2000, which convicted him and adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja of sodomising Anwar's former family driver Azizan Abu Bakar.

Their application to the Court of Appeal was rejected on April 18 last year. The judgment by the Federal Court will also include Sukma's appeal.