'A gross injustice against me and my family'.

This is how ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim described a court decision to throw out his RM100 million suit against former boss Dr Mahathir Mohamad for calling him a "sodomiser".

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today allowed an application by ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad to strike out the suit.

In an immediate reaction, Anwar said the court's decision was a "gross injustice" against him and his family, as well as a reflection on the state of justice in Malaysia.

"In coming to her decision, judicial commissioner Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat has chosen to ignore the overwhelming body of legal arguments that I have presented to the court as to why Mahathir must answer my suit for making those scurrilous and malicious remarks about me.

"Under the circumstances, I am compelled to say that this decision is utterly devoid of any legal merit," said the PKR de facto leader in a brief statement.

Mahathir, who is currently in Langkawi, is not expected to make any immediate comments on the matter, his aide Sufi Yusoff told malaysiakini when contacted.

Seeking vindication

At the sidelines of a human rights conference held in September 2005, Mahathir told reporters: "I cannot have a sodomiser in my cabinet. Imagine a gay PM ... nobody would be safe!"

Although Anwar demanded a public apology and RM100 million in the suit, his lawyers had said that he was looking for vindication, rather than compensation.

After his sacking in 1998, Anwar was tried for, and convicted of, sodomy and corruption. He spent six years in jail, until the sodomy conviction was overturned by the Federal Court in 2004.

He has always insisted that the charges were trumped up but Mahathir has denied this.