Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has appealed to his supporters not to mob the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) when he arrives from Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Chairperson of the homecoming committee Kamarul Bahrin Abbas said all well-wishers have instead been invited to join Anwar at his residence in Damansara for iftar (breaking fast) and congregational prayers.

He said Anwar made the requests following the government's failure to respond to the committee's application for a permit for a gathering at a public stadium , preferably the Bukit Jalil stadium.

"He expressed his hope that they do not greet him at the airport. This is because the environment and the arrival hall are not conducive to contain a large number of people as what we discovered when he left for Munich . We also want to avoid any untoward incidents," he told reporters during a press conference at Anwar's house.

"We also fear that irresponsible parties may take advantage of the crowd to create chaos just to give a negative image to Anwar," he added.

Kamarul admitted that there was nothing to stop Anwar's supporters from going to KLIA but hoped that they would respect the former deputy premier's wishes.

"We have stopped mobilising supporters to greet him (Anwar). We will continue to spread the news on the change of plans and hope that all with cooperate," he said.

He also revealed that Anwar's flight to Kuala Lumpur will be on a commercial flight, and not via a Saudi Royal's private jet, as planned.

A family member told malaysiakini later that Anwar had declined the offer to fly home in a Saudi Royal private jet as "he did not want to impose too much".

"Apparently there was an unofficial protest by the Malaysian government that Anwar is accorded the official guest status . As he was already thankful for the special treatment accorded to him, he felt that it was not right to impose further.

"If he was to return by a private jet, the Saudis would have to apply for landing rights. This may lead to political embarrassments and he wants to avoid that," said the relative.

Permit application

Meanwhile, Kamarul said the government's silence on the application to hold a public gathering was taken as a rejection.

"Based on our past experience with the authorities we know that they are not going to approve it. This has forced us to act on limited resources," he added.

Contacted later, a Home Ministry senior official informed that the permit was referred to the police two days after they received it.

"The ministry does not deal with such matters. The issuance of permits is the jurisdiction of the police. So it's best to check with them," he added.

However, a check with the Cheras District Police headquarters - authorised to issue permits for gatherings at the Bukit Jalil Stadium- revealed that no such application had been referred to them.

"The record showed no such application had been made to hold gathering at the stadium on Oct 31," said the personnel who declined to be named.

Commenting on this, Kamarul insisted that the committee was right in submitting the application to the ministry, which oversees the police.

"When we submitted it to the ministry, the officer merely looked at the document, stamped an acknowledgment of receipt and told us that he will get back to us. No one told me that it was a wrong avenue. I think they just wanted to give us the run around," he said.