Supporters of jailed Malaysian ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim today defied police orders to end their first cross-country vehicle protest, a spokesman for the protesters said.

The convoy of 25 cars was blocked by police who ordered the protesters to take down flags and posters, according to Badrul Hisham Shahrin of the Free Anwar Movement.

Police ordered the Anwar supporters to disperse but after the column broke in two, they continued their journey followed by police, Badrul said.

The protest came ahead of a possible bail decision Monday for Anwar, who was detained in 1998 and is serving a total of 15 years in prison for corruption and sodomy. The Court of Appeal will also review its decision to uphold his conviction and sentence for sodomy.

Supporters want Anwar to be freed on bail before the upcoming general election which are due by held by the end of the year but widely tipped to be called by April.

Mass rally in Penang

The National Justice Party (Keadilan), headed by Anwar's wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and the Free Anwar Movement has planned a one-month cross-country convoy that will culminate in a mass rally in his homestate Penang on February 14, officials said.

The convoy campaign was aimed at testing new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's tolerance for open dissent. Abdullah took over from veteran Dr Mahathir Mohamad who retired October 31 after 22 years in power.

Badrul said the convoy left the headquarters of Keadilan in Sabak Bernam, some 96 kilometres (60 miles) west of the capital Kuala Lumpur in the central Selangor state, and distributed leaflets calling for Anwar's freedom.

"The public response was good. We did not encounter any problems. But when we left Sabak Bernam heading to Sekhincan, police blocked the convoy," he said.

"Police also ordered all the cars to remove the party flags and posters of Anwar."

Badrul said the police action would not deter them from organising another convoy in the capital Kuala Lumpur Sunday to demonstrate that the Anwar issue "is still alive."

"We have no police permit but we will continue with the campaign," he said. - AFP