Jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was visibly in pain and appeared uncomfortable physically, according to Suhakam commissioner Anuar Zainal Abidin today.

Anuar, who led a team of five Suhakam commissioners to meet the former deputy premier in his prison cell in Sungai Buloh, told journalists after the one-hour visit that Anwar was wearing a neck brace.

He said Anwar had maintained that he wanted to undergo endoscopic surgery overseas, conducted by his chosen specialist, Dr Thomas Hoogland.

Asked what kind of assurances the commissioners gave the ex-deputy prime minister, Anuar replied, "All I can say is that we had a fruitful discussion but we have to go back and brief other commissioners before we issue a statement."

Mahadev Shankar, who heads Suhakam's Treaties and International Instruments Working Group, reiterated that the commissioners would also have to get feedback from the medical authorities before coming to a decision.

Anwar, who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for abuse of power and sodomy charges - which he has denied - is suffering from a slipped disc.

He had rejected a government offer to undergo a spinal surgery at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), insisting that he has the right to an endoscopic surgery at Hoogland's dedicated spine clinic in Munich, Germany.

The government ruled out this possibility but said a foreign endoscopic specialist can operate on Anwar in Malaysia.

Response to memorandum

Anwar's supporters, who sent a memorandum to Suhakam, calling for the former's right to his choice of treatment to be respected, are hoping that the commission would be able to resolve the impasse between the government and Anwar.

Suhakam's visit today is in response to the memorandum sent in mid-May, which stated that Anwar has been denied his right under "peculiar medical circumstances".

Anuar also thanked the prison authorities for their cooperation since it was only yesterday that Suhakam had requested for access.

"Suhakam is grateful because our decision yesterday to meet Anwar has been granted by the prison authorities," the commissioner said.

The Suhakam delegation also comprised commissioner Muhammad Hirman Ritom Abdullah, as well as Suhakam legal officer Raja Azwa Petra and Dr Jeya Indran, the HKL specialist appointed by the authorities to oversee Anwar's health.

Sungai Buloh is a remand prison housing 3,902 detainees, with 20 on death row for committing drug-related offences.