A defiant Anwar Ibrahim pledged to fight on for reform in Malaysia as he returned to a hero's welcome today after spinal surgery in Germany.

Hundreds of supporters defied a police ban to greet the former deputy prime minister at the airport, chanting his battle cry of "Reformasi" (reform) and shouting "Long live Anwar!"

More than a thousand gathered later at his home in an upmarket Kuala Lumpur suburb. Anwar told them his release last month after six years in jail was just the start of a new chapter in the struggle to reform a government which he says is corrupt.

"I want to say thank you to you all, but let me stress our problems are many. Don't think now that Anwar is free everything is settled," he said in a 20-minute speech to supporters gathered in his garden, in the street and perched on the walls around his house.

"Anwar's release is the start of a new chapter. This chapter is one of defending the rights of all Malaysians of all races," he said.

Thank you, Pak Lah

Anwar, whose conviction for corruption means that he cannot stand for public office until 2008, said he would seek a meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who took over when premier Mahathir Mohamad retired one year ago today.

Anwar said he would thank Abdullah for his release, adding: "If Mahathir was still prime minister I would not be free now. So for that I want to say thank you."

Anwar was Mahathir's deputy and heir-apparent to the premiership before being sacked in 1998 and later jailed on charges which he said were cooked up to prevent him challenging Mahathir for the leadership.

He had already served a sentence for allegedly corruptly using his position to cover up charges of sexual misconduct when the country's highest court overturned his separate conviction for sodomy on Sept 2 and set him free.

Anwar said he would press Abdullah further to reform the judiciary and to ease the pressure on opposition parties.

"Our judiciary is still not fully independent," he said.

Anwar also charged that corruption was still rampant despite Abdullah's pledge to weed it out. He called for "a sustainable economic approach" because "there are pockets of poverty in the midst of plenty".

"What we demand is an agenda for change," he said, but urged supporters to ensure their political efforts were peaceful so the government had no excuse to clamp down on them.

Flowers not bullets

Anwar said he did not understand why the police had mounted a large operation at the airport to prevent his supporters turning out to welcome him, saying: "They (his supporters) brought flowers, not bullets".

Police had warned that a mass gathering would not be allowed and had set up six roadblocks on the way to the airport outside Kuala Lumpur.

Tian Chua, a senior official of the National Justice Party (Keadilan), headed by Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, said his glasses were broken when police bundled him out of the arrival hall.

Another party official, Azmin Ali, said he was "shocked" by the scale of the police operation.

"This is another form of intimidation and harassment by the government," he said. "It is obvious that Anwar is still a real threat to Umno and the government."

Anwar, accompanied by his wife, looked tired but smiled and waved at supporters as he walked unaided to his car after years of appearing in court in a wheelchair and neck brace.

The former deputy premier says his back was injured during a police beating after his arrest in 1998.

He is barred from holding political office until 2008 under regulations governing convicted criminals, but said he would soon tour the country to thank people for their support.