Dr Wan Azizah Ismail today vowed to keep up what she called the struggle against injustice after her husband Anwar Ibrahim lost his final appeal against corruption conviction yesterday.

Wan Azizah was surrounded by Anwar supporters at a suburban Perth home in Western Australia as she received news of her husband's appeal from Kuala Lumpur, The West Australian newspaper said.

Azizah, leader of the opposition party, Keadilan, is visiting Perth with her father, Wan Ismail Wan Mahmood, and her son, Ihsan, 16, who is a student at a Melbourne college in the State of Victoria.

She was reported as saying the verdict marked another black day in the Malaysian judiciary's tainted history.

"But the struggle for justice will go on," she said.

There had appeared to be a slim chance the judges would overturn the appeal, restoring confidence in the judiciary, she said.

"Now I am saddened. My family are saddened. We feel a sense of sorrow, a loss of confidence. We feel a deep sense of betrayal.

"My children have been looking forward to Anwar coming home, especially after they saw him limping during a visit in prison last week."

A three-judge panel, including Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, of the Federal Court ruled unanimously against Anwar.

Trumped up charges

Anwar, who was sacked from the deputy premiership in 1998, has long claimed he is the victim of charges trumped up to prevent him from challenging his leader and one-time mentor, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He was sentenced to 15 years' jail on sex and corruption charges.

Former US ambassador to Malaysia, John Malott, was among sympathisers who phoned Azizah here, offering comfort.

The court decision had removed the final shred of credibility of the Malaysian judicial system, Malott said.

Former Australian opposition foreign affairs spokesman, Laurie Brereton, also called, saying Federal bipartisan support for Anwar remained strong.

Anwar appeared in court in a wheelchair and neck brace for injuries he says resulted from a beating by the national police chief after his arrest in Sept 1998, when he led tens of thousands of people in protests.

Azizah said she and her family were worried about Anwar's health. His back problem had worsened.

She rejected claims that support for Anwar was fading, saying the support was not overt because people feared reprisals.

Dirty tactics

Azizah accused the government of using dirty tactics by announcing the date of Wednesday's appeal hearing only after she left Malaysia for Melbourne.

The government had done that to split Anwar supporters, she said.

"I and my family decided to come to Perth to be with supporters here," she said. AFP