Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim today urged Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah and Appeal Court president Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim to fix early hearings for his cases pending in their courts out of concern over possible government interference in the judiciary.

Anwar is seeking a review of the corruption conviction and appealing against the sodomy verdict dealt o­n him.

His lawyer Sankara Nair said in a press statement that Anwar had asked for letters to be delivered to the two judges after hearing a comment made by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in relation to the cases.

According to Nair, Anwar took exception to a remark made by Abdullah o­n Feb 14 that the former may apply to court for bail when his first sentence ends largely expected to fall o­n April 14.

"Our client takes issue with the statement as it can be construed as interference with the judiciary by the executive, in that it is for the judiciary and not for the executive to fix a date for his appeal," said the lawyer.

Anwar was found guilty in 1999 of corruption and sodomy and sentenced to a six-year and nine-year jail term respectively for the offences. Both sentences run consecutively. Last July, the Federal Court unanimously dismissed his appeal against the corruption sentence.

Release chances 'remote'

Elaborating further, Nair said that Anwar is currently awaiting a date for his application for a review from the Federal Court of its July decision to reject his appeal.

Anwar is also awaiting an appeal date from the Court of Appeal against his sodomy conviction.

"Our client is currently awaiting an appeal date before April 14, 2003, to be set by the Court of Appeal and also awaiting a date for his application for a review from the Federal Court. In the event that he succeeds he will be free and the issue of bail will then not arise."

"By making the said statement the DPM has preempted and/or suggested the court will not set a hearing date before April 14, 2003 or that in the event a date is fixed before April 14, 2003, it is likely that our client will not succeed," the lawyer added.

Anwar is currently serving the fourth year of his corruption sentence, raising hopes among the opposition circles that he might be released early for 'good behaviour' and that his sodomy sentence might be postponed by a stay of execution order.

However, Nair had earlier dismissed the speculation as "remote" based o­n discussions with Anwar and his family.

Anwar was denied bail in both cases in 1999. His supporters now believe that Anwar stands a better chance of obtaining bail pending his appeal against the sodomy conviction, especially if he is to be released early for good behaviour for the corruption charge.