Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said he cannot understand why prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is being so "personal and vindictive" towards him.

Anwar's lawyer, Sankara Nair said his client related this during their biweekly meeting earlier today at the Sungai Buloh prison in Selangor, where Anwar is serving a 15-year jail term for corruption and sodomy charges following the highly-controversial trials.

Sankara said he had informed Anwar details of the meeting between three opposition leaders and the premier yesterday concerning Anwar's treatment. Anwar had responded that he could not understand why Mahathir was being "personal and vindictive", adding that all he wanted was an operation with minimal risks.

"All I am asking is to avail myself to a procedure which is least invasive and has virtually no risk and complication, which is prudent by any standards. As opposed to the one which is offered by HKL (Kuala Lumpur Hospital) which is declared by them to be fraught with myriad risks and pose opposite complications.

"My view is any decision of this nature ought to be made by the government purely based on evidence and not on the basis of personal or political reasons. The operation could have been done (locally)... until they (the government) took on my poor doctor in Germany," Sankara quoted Anwar as saying.

Painkillers

Anwar who is suffering from a slipped disc, rejected a government offer of spinal surgery at HKL. He insists that he has a right to a "less risky" endoscopic operation at a specialist clinic in Munich run by dedicated spine surgeon Dr Thomas Hoogland.

The government ruled this out but said a foreign endoscopic specialist can operate in Malaysia if desired. In addition, the government cast doubts of Hoogland's credentials through statements made in Parliament and the media.

Yesterday, three opposition leaders led by PAS president Fadzil Mohd Noor met Mahathir to discuss about Anwar's treatment. However, the premier had remained steadfast in his decision not to allow his former deputy to undergo surgery abroad.

Sankara said Anwar was in a wheelchair and wearing a back brace when he met him, adding that the bed in Anwar's cell had been improved but he has to do everything himself.

"That can prove quite difficult as Anwar cannot bend. He is given prison food and painkillers when required. The prison guards help him to make the bed," said Sankara.