Jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's lawyer today claimed that the former's appointed physician Dr S Jeyaindran is denying him expert opinion regarding his worsening back pain.

Sankara Nair said the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) consultant physician has been ignoring repeated requests to have Anwar's slipped disc examined by a specialist despite being told that the pain had worsened in recent weeks.

"He had complained of the worsened pain in September last year and has since requested for an expert's opinion. But Dr Jeyaindran has refused to do anything other than give him pain killers," he said when contacted.

"In the last meeting with my client on Dec 31, I found out that the pain had escalated. Anwar had informed the doctor about it but he (the doctor) did nothing except prescribe a different painkiller," he added.

The lawyer said the painkiller failed to ease Anwar's suffering and there was also fear that it might lead to adverse side effects.

Civil suits

Sankara suspected that Jeyaindran's action could be related to the official complaint which Anwar lodged against the physician.

"It looked as if the doctor has taken the complaint very personally and has failed to act professionally. We have tried to get the Prisons Department to send him (Anwar) to the hospital but they cannot do so unless it is authorised by Jeyaindran," he said.

The lawyer added that Anwar was unwilling to wait another three months (he had been complaining since September) for further action and had instructed to give Jeyaindran and the prison authorities until Tuesday before initiating civil suits against them.

"The prison authorities told me that they have asked a orthopaedic specialist to examine Anwar. They promised me that the specialist will come on Tuesday, so we'll wait until then.

"If they fail to keep their promise, we will not hesitate to take action for putting his (Anwar's) life in danger. We have no choice on this...they must be held responsible," Sankaran said.

Anwar had lodged a complaint (when) against Jeyaindran following an allegedly misleading report to the Inter Parliamentary Union, which claimed that he was given special medical privileges including routine treatment at HKL.

In the complaint, the former deputy premier claimed that Jeyaindran had failed to act professionally in making decisions pertaining to his health. He also accused the physician of allegedly briefing high government officials that his complaints were fake.

To date Jeyaindran has yet to reply to the allegations and attempts to get his comments today also proved futile.

Sankara also said that Anwar's complaint was recorded by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) when commissioners Prof Hamdan Adnan and Asiah Abu Samah visited him at the Sungai Buloh Prison on Monday.

"The commissioners saw my client in pain. They noted his complaints and we hope that their observation would expedite a solution to our plight," he added.

Held responsible

In a related development, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) leaders urged Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to ensure that the matter is handled in a just and humane manner.

Its president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also Anwar's wife, and her deputy Dr Syed Husin Ali said it was disappointing that no efforts have been made by the authorities to send the jailed politician for medical treatment.

"We have been informed that his back pain is severe for the past two weeks but until today no effort has been made to take him to the hospital or to refer him to the doctors of his choice for a second opinion and further treatment," they said in a press statement today.

The leaders warned that the authorities must take action as soon as possible as both the Prisons Department and Hospital Kuala Lumpur will be held responsible should anything happen to Anwar.