Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had personally called Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requesting the latter not to meet former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar's aide Ezam Mohd Nor told malaysiakini that Indonesia officials informed him this when he enquired about Anwar's request to meet Susilo Bambang during his five-day visit to Indonesia which ended yesterday.

"It is definitely not because he is not interested to meet Anwar. How could he meet Anwar when there is direct pressure from the Malaysian prime minister? I think to remain in good terms with the Malaysian government, he (Bambang) has to be diplomatic," said Ezam from Jakarta.

"We understand that the president is in a spot here and we are not disheartened. Although we did not meet him but the treatment given to us by his government and ministers showed that they still view Anwar with high regards.

Anwar and his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail - who is also leader of opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat - arrived in Jakarta on Monday and were received by former Cooperative Minister Adi Sarsono and leading Indonesian politicians.

Anwar and his delegation were then taken to the VIP complex where many journalists were waiting.

Polite signal

He said the unexpected privileges, including police escort throughout the five-day visit, is a "polite signal" to the Malaysian government that the Indonesian government recognises Anwar's leadership credibility.

Abdullah cautioned foreign leaders on Monday about meeting Anwar to maintain good diplomatic ties.

"The foreign leaders...should also know what is right for them to do and what is not right. Normally, our behaviour has been that if a leader of the opposition asks for an appointment, we become naturally more cautious because we have to think of the feelings of the government in power. That's something that we always bear in mind," said the Malaysian premier.

Speaking on the visit, Ezam said one of the key meetings Anwar had was with Bambang's deputy Yusuf Kalla who hosted a 90-minute meeting cum dinner with Anwar on Thursday night.

Apart from Yusuf, Anwar had also met Human Resource and Transmigration Minister Fahmi Idris, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie, Bapak Soegiharto, the Minister of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Hidayat Nur Wahid, the head of Indonesia's top legislature.

"The meeting with Yusuf Kalla was much longer that the meeting he hosted for our deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak. In fact Indonesia's No 1 selling newspaper, Kompas , had given Anwar a front page coverage while Najib's arrival was featured on page 7!"

"Surely that must account for something. So to say that the Indonesian government was unsupportive just because Anwar failed to meet the president, is untrue."

Successful visit

He said Anwar's credibility still stands tall not only among current politicians but also senior leaders like former president Megawati Soekarnoputri who had invited Anwar to her private residence on Friday morning.

Speaking about the visit, Ezam had said that it was a successful visit as Anwar had met key Indonesian leaders from all spheres: politics, culture and religious.

"Events organised either by politicians, budayawan (artistes) or religious people all received very good responses. We couldn't ask for more."

Anwar's other aide Adlin Zabri press coverage by Indonesian media was pleasantly overwhelming.

"Everywhere we go, a large group of reporters would be waiting for us. All reporters want to interview him. One of them was the local Metro TV who gave Anwar a 10-minute interview. I got so many requests that some interview sessions have to be done in groups."

He said the support Anwar received was "better than that when he was a minister".