Anwar Ibrahim wants a review of Monday's Federal Court decision not to call former Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Ramli Yusof to testify to support his claim of political conspiracy in his Sodomy II conviction.

The PKR de-facto leader's solicitor, Sivarasa Rasiah, confirmed this when contacted by Malaysiakini.

“Yes, I can confirm that Anwar has instructed us to file a review of Monday's decision. The papers will be filed within one or two weeks,” said Sivarasa who is also the MP for Subang.

Sivarasa met Anwar at the Sungai Buloh prison on Friday.

Anwar was convicted and had his sentence of five years' jail for Sodomy II affirmed by the Federal Court in February last year.

He was charged with sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at the Desa Damansara condominium on June 26, 2008.

Anwar wanted to call Ramli following his testimony in a civil trial that former Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan, who was to investigating officer in the Sodomy I case, told him that the late attorney-general Mohtar Abdullah and then prosecutor Abdul Gani Patail, wanted him to lodge a false police report that the politician hurt himself in the black-eye incident.

Ramli refused, but an inquiry as well as a Royal Commission of Inquiry was called.

The apex court had on Monday in a unanimous decision ruled there was no need to call Ramli as it was not within the scope of Rule 137 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, where the application to adduce further evidence was to be made during proceedings and not review.

Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin also ruled that it did not pass the threshold outlined in Section 93 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 (CJA).

The other judges on the bench were chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Justice Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judges Hasan Lah, Abu Samah Nordin and Zaharah Ibrahim.

The apex court also ruled that Ramli's evidence, given at a separate civil trial, was not relevant to the case.

New judges to hear review?

The apex court bench led by Justice Zulkefli fixed July 21 to hear the review of the Sodomy II conviction and sentence.

However, following this decision by Anwar to review Monday's ruling, a new bench may have to be formed.

This follows all judges at the Federal Court have been involved in hearing Anwar's Sodomy II case.

Anwar was convicted by the Court of Appeal judges that comprised of Justice Balia Yusof Wahi and Justice Aziah Ali and Justice Mohd Zawawi Mohd Salleh. Justice Balia and Justice Aziah have just been elevated to the apex court.

The other judge at the Federal Court who has not heard the Sodomy II case is Justice Azahar Mohamed. However, he was one of the prosecutors in the Sodomy I trial.

This means the new bench may have to comprise of Court of Appeal judges to hear the review of this application at the apex court.

Sivarasa said this would a problem for the court to solve.

Lead counsel and former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram also told Malaysiakini that the apex court should not decide to not call Ramli without hearing the evidence first.

He also opined that a new bench had to be formulated if the review of Monday's decision had the green light.