Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim will act as adviser to the opposition party headed by his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail but could take over the leadership when restrictions on his political activities expire, she said yesterday.

Anwar, who is barred from holding public office until 2008 under laws governing convicted criminals, has been cagey about his political plans since being released on Sept 2 last year after six years in jail on a corruption charge,

But Wan Azizah told AFP after announcing new party posts that she expects Anwar would take an official position in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) once he was free to do so, and that many in the party saw him as the future leader.

"It all depends on the members. Many people see that is the way of the future, and if he is their choice then so be it. I am an accidental politician," she said.

The party was set up to press Anwar's case after he was fired by then-premier Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 and later jailed on charges which he claims were trumped up to prevent him from challenging for the leadership.

Anwar has refused to spell out his ambitions since his release from jail.

He said only that he would remain in the opposition camp while leaving open the possibility of working with the ruling party, of which he was formerly deputy president, to reform what he calls a corrupt political system.

No meeting with Pak Lah

Shortly after his release he requested a private meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who took over when Mahathir retired in October 2003, but Wan Azizah said this had not yet been granted.

Anwar did, however, meet recently with the spiritual leader of the opposition Islamic Party (PAS), Nik Aziz Nik Mat, sparking reports that he had suggested a merger between Keadilan and PAS.

Wan Azizah denied this. "The question of a merger with PAS was never raised at all," she said.

"Anwar paid a courtesy call on (Nik Aziz) because they've been very supportive. What Anwar said was that he wanted to increase and enhance cooperation and working relations."

Before his sudden sacking, Anwar was widely expected to succeed Mahathir as prime minister. But there is little likelihood that Keadilan could provide him with a platform from which he could revive those ambitions.

All Malaysia's prime ministers since independence from Britain in 1957 have come from the ruling United Malays National Organisation. It dominates a parliament in which Keadilan holds just one seat - occupied by Wan Azizah.