Anwar Ibrahim's spirit is still high despite his body being riddled with mosquito bites and being unable to sleep in his prison cell, said his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

"Prison has definitely taken a toll on his health," she told reporters.

    

The family, including Anwar's six children and his grandchildren, had the opportunity to meet him when the opposition leader attended court this morning.

Wan Azizah also said prison authorities had assured better conditions for Anwar in view of his health problems, but are waiting for a complete set of medical records.

"He is now sleeping on a two-inch foam mattress," she added.

She said the family's longing to see Anwar has been satisfied to a certain extent when they managed to spend time with him in court before and after he took the witness stand.

Anwar appeared weary but showed no sign of frailness when taking the stand with regard to his defamation suit against Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

'We are proud of him'

Meanwhile, his daughter Nurul Izzah ( right ) said the family is proud of the way Anwar took the stand for cross examination by Umno-linked lawyer Shafee Abdullah, more so after the latter's recent spate of attacks against the opposition leader.

 

"We are very pleased, very proud of the way he stood his ground," she said after a brief meeting with her father.

Shafee is the lead defence counsel for Anifah in the RM100 million suit.

 

Nurul said Shafee "insulted" Anwar, including claiming that the latter would have "fainted" if he took the stand for cross examination during the Sodomy II trial, for which the veteran lawyer was lead prosecutor.

 

She said that not only Anwar but the legal fraternity is also "upset" with Shafee's conduct.