Ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim has been unanimously endorsed as the advisor of the upcoming Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) transitional leadership line-up.

The endorsement, although not officially announced at yesterday's meeting where the new leadership line-up was formally set up, was expected as Anwar has been the main force of the reformasi movement which subsequently gave birth to Parti Keadilan Nasional in 1999.

A party source told malaysiakini that Anwar was the unanimous choice of the leaders present as advisor of PKR, which will be formed from the merging of PRM and Keadilan.

The former deputy premier is currently serving a 15-year jail sentence in Sungai Buloh prison for sodomy and corruption. He has denied the charges and claimed it was a political conspiracy against him.

Once Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's heir apparent, Anwar has been a life member and advisor of Keadilan since the 1999 general election.

Keadilan is currently led by his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail but Anwar is still regarded as the "opinion maker" of the party.