The Court of Appeal today dismissed an application by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim for bail pending his appeal against a sodomy conviction.

The court's three-member panel - justices Pajan Singh Gill, Richard Malanjum and Hashim Yusof - also rejected another application by the jailed politician for the court to review its own decision in dismissing his sodomy appeal.

Pajan, who was promoted to the Federal Court last year, started the proceedings at 3.30pm in the fully-packed courtroom.

The judges said they had written their grounds of judgment but surprised everyone by refusing to state what these were.

When Anwar repeatedly requested the judges to read out their grounds for dismissing his applications, Pajan said "the atmosphere is not suitable for that".

The court gallery was filled with Anwar's family members and supporters. His children were distraught with emotion at the end of the proceedings and had to be consoled by Anwar.

The decision on the bail application means that Anwar will have to remain in prison pending his sodomy appeal.

He had also hoped that he would be allowed to travel abroad for treatment for a slipped disc, which Anwar said was aggravated by a police assault when he was first arrested.

Anwar's lawyers told malaysiakini that they will be filing a fresh bail application to the Federal Court as soon as possible.

Anwar has served four years in jail on corruption charges and is awaiting the outcome of an appeal against his conviction for sodomy, for which he would have to serve his sentence until 2009.

Federal court

The court's ruling that it has no jurisdiction to review its own decision will also mean that Anwar is left with a final avenue - to appeal to the Federal Court.

The 200-strong crowd which had gathered outside the courthouse in Putrajaya's Palace of Justice greeted the decision with dismay.

On April 18, the Court of Appeal had upheld his sodomy conviction and his nine-year jail sentence. The court had also rejected his oral bail application on the same day.

Instead of appealing to the Federal Court - the country's highest court - Anwar filed an application for the Court of Appeal to review its decision based on the grounds that it had misdirected itself in upholding the High Court decision.

On Aug 8, 2000, High Court judge Arifin Jaka had found Anwar guilty of sodomising Azizan Abu Bakar, the former driver of his wife and opposition Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.