Some 500 supporters of jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim gathered outside the Sungai Buloh Prison last night to celebrate his 69th birthday.

They also came together as part of the ongoing campaign to demand for his freedom, on the 548th day that he had spent behind bars.

A large birthday cake was brought on to the makeshift stage, where Anwar's family members and friends were already gathered, at about 11.30pm.

Anwar's wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail cut the cake with her daughters Nurul Izzah, Nurul Hana and Nurul Nuha - after repeated cries of "Allah selamatkan kamu" - from the classical Malay version of the ‘Happy Birthday’ song, with lyrics pleading for God to bless and save the person celebrated.

In her speech, Wan Azizah said the people must never give up on their struggle for change, one which started in 1998 when Anwar was sacked as deputy prime minister and later jailed.

At the time, she noted that the people's demands for change eventually saw former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad being succeeded by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who in turn handed over the post to current Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"At that time we (the opposition) did not have many YBs (members of Parliament).

"I wonder if the people realise that even though now we have more YBs, that it is still not enough," said Wan Azizah, who singled out Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng from the crowd and jokingly said that it was because he was not paying attention to her speech.

"If we do not change the entire system, we will continue to face the same problems..." she said, adding that every little effort would count towards the struggle for change.

Daughter Nurul Izzah, the MP for Lembah Pantai, recited two of Anwar's favourite poems - ‘Memang Selalu Demikian, Hadi’ by Taufik Ismail and ‘Kesaksian Bapak Saijah’ by Rendra.

'Fear only God'

Quoting lines from Rendra's poem on the realisation that the fear to act gives way to injustices, Nurul Izzah said she is often reminded of Wan Azizah's advice for them to fear only God.

"If even the students have now found the courage to mobilise a movement to catch the kleptocrat, what is our excuse?" she said in reference to the Aug 27 'Tangkap Malaysian Official 1' rally organised by a coalition of student and youth groups.

Coalition spokesperson Anis Syafiqah Md Yusof reiterated the call for the authorities to identify and investigate the individual identified as ‘Malaysian Official 1’ by the United States Department of Justice.

Anis was the first to speak when the gathering started at 9pm and she once again urged the people to participate in the planned Tangkap Malaysian Official 1 rallies in Kuala Lumpur, Johor and in Kelantan.

Other leaders who spoke were DAP's Lim Kit Siang and Tony Pua; PKR's Tian Chua, Rafizi Ramli, Sivarasa Rasiah, Zuraida Kamarudin and Saifuddin Abdullah; Amanah deputy youth chief Faiz Fadzil and Mahfuz Omar of PAS.

Guests were also invited to sign a banner that supported the call for Anwar's freedom from his five-year jail term for sodomy, a charge which his supporters maintained was politically motivated.