After a delay of more than a year, the Federal Court has finally fixed a date to hear Anwar Ibrahim's application to review its own decision on the jailed politician's conviction and sentence for corruption.

Anwar's lawyer Sankara Nair was informed of this new date by the Federal Court deputy registrar S Kalyana Kumar through a fax dated today. A copy of the fax was made available to malaysiakini.

Anwar had filed the application in August 2002, seeking leave from the country's highest court to review its own decision.

The Federal Court had earlier upheld the April 14, 1999 High Court verdict.

Its three-member panel - then Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, Sabah and Sarawak Chief judge Steve Shim and Justice Haidar Mohd Nor (now the Chief Judge of Malaya) - had backed the decision by High Court judge S Augustine Paul (now a Court of Appeal judge) to sentence Anwar to six years' jail for corrupt practice.

The last time the application for the Federal Court review was mentioned was on March 18 last year, when the court adjourned the case , following a request by attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail for a five-member panel, instead of three, to hear the application.

Fed up with the delay, Anwar had then written a letter last October to the Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh to set an early hearing date in relation to the application.

In the letter, Anwar said his application had been pending for "far too long", and urged the CJ to set a hearing date promptly.

While there is no other avenue for appeal against a decision by the Federal Court, aggrieved parties can apply to the same court for a review of its own decision under a new set of judges.

Back to hospital

In another development, the Free Anwar Movement (FAM) today said Anwar was again brought to the Hospital Kuala Lumpur today for further check-ups following his complaints of discomfort during urination.

FAM spokesperson Badrul Hisham Shaharin said that Anwar underwent a two-hour check-up at the hospital this morning.

"Although he managed to smile and wave at his supporters, he still looked pale and frail," he said in a statement.

Badrul also said that unlike previous occasions, officials from the hospital and the Prisons Department were more willing to cooperate with Anwar's lawyers and family.

Yesterday, FAM said that it would give the government 24 hours to comply with their demands to allow Anwar to seek proper medical treatment.

Should the government fail to respond, Badrul said the movement would resort to 'certain measures', but he declined to elaborate.

However today he said the deadline has been extended for "a few more days".

Anwar is also suffering from a chronic backache and has been asking the government to allow him to seek proper treatment in Germany, a request which was rejected by the government.

Last Friday, Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail revealed that her husband was in danger of becoming paralysed if the authorities do not provide him with proper medical facilities or deny him an endoscopic surgery overseas .

Anwar is currently serving a nine-year jail sentence for sodomy at the Sungai Buloh prison while waiting for a decision on his appeal against this second conviction from the Federal Court. He was not granted bail by the courts.

The ex-deputy premier, who was sacked in 1998, has completed his six-year jail sentence for the first conviction on corruption.