The most important thing for Anwar Ibrahim's family is his well-being in prison and this has nothing to do with being accorded VIP-like treatment.

His daughter, Nurul Nuha, said the family is concerned that Anwar is being kept in a small prison cell and made to sleep on a tiny foam mattress on the floor despite his health condition.

She was responding to Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who said that Anwar would not be accorded VIP treatment in the Sungai Buloh prison where he is serving a five-year sentence.

Nurul Nuha, the face of the newly launched "March 2 Freedom" movement to free Anwar and the speculated candidate for the Permatang Pauh by-election, clarified that the family never sought special privileges for her father.

"His back is deteriorating," the 31-year-old mother of two told Malaysiakini in an emotionally-charged exclusive interview.

"We are not asking for VIP treatment. Of course, he should not be there (in prison) in the first place, because he was unjustly detained.

"But he's got a really bad back. And he's 67, people tend to forget that.

"Yes, he's an inspiring person, and has a young persona, but his age is catching up. What we want is a more comfortable place in order for him not to aggravate his back," she said amid sobs.

Nurul Nuha explained that the family just wants Anwar to be treated in a manner that would not make things worse with regard to his ailment.

"Our main focus is his health and well-being," she said.

Nurul Nuha also refuted that Anwar received VIP treatment during his previous incarceration from 1999 to 2004.

"They lied to us before. Back then (when he was first arrested in 1998), the then inspector-general of police Rahim Noor said that Anwar was safe.

"But when we went there, he was beaten half to death. That sort of thing just makes you paranoid," she said referring to her father sporting a black eye then.

Nurul Naha was 13 when her father landed in prison.

She recalled how as an adolescent, she had felt hapless for not being able to do anything about the situation.

Finding herself in a deja vu predicament 18 years later, Nurul Nuha vowed to demand justice for her father via the new movement.

Malaysiakini will publish Part Two and Part Three of the interview next Monday and Tuesday.