The shortage of judges at the Federal Court cannot be used as a reason to deny jailed ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim a five-member panel to hear his review against a corruption conviction, scheduled for Aug 10.

Anwar's lawyer Sankara Nair said this in referring to a letter he received from the Federal Court informing that only three judges at the apex court can hear Anwar's case as the other six had already heard Anwar's other cases earlier.

The letter was a reply to Anwar's who on Wednesday sought clarification from Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim for failing to fulfil his promise in forming a five-member panel to hear the review.

The chief justice had postponed the matter last year after Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail requested that the matter be heard by a five-member panel of judges.

A copy of the letter which was made available to malaysiakini, revealed that it was written by court registrar S Kalyanakumar who, on the Ahmad Fairuz's instructions, said that the court was unable to form a five-member panel of judges.

Postponed again?

The letter also informed that the Federal Court cannot be constituted with more than one Court of Appeal judge sitting at the Federal Court on ad-hoc basis.

"If your party is still adamant for a five-member panel, the matter would have to be postponed until the panel can be formed," said Kalyanakumar in the letter.

Commenting further on the letter, Sankara said the reasons given by the court is "untenable".

"There is nothing in the rules that prevents the chief justice from appointing two Court of Appeal judges to hear the review together with the three Federal Court judges. It's only a matter of will," he said when contacted.

Asked if Anwar would be agreeable to a postponement, Nair said he believed that the jailed politician would not want another postponement.

To meet Anwar in HKL

"He has always lamented on how the matter had been dragged this long. It took them a year to fix the date and to postpone it further would only make the situation worst."

Nair said he would only reply after meeting Anwar who has been admitted to Kuala Lumpur Hospital to treat his slipped disc on Monday.

Anwar filed the application in August 2002, seeking leave from the country's highest court to review its own decision, which upheld the April 14, 1999 High Court verdict finding him guilty of corruption.

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.