The decision came just hours after Anwar underwent spinal surgery in Germany for an injury he says was caused by a police beating after his arrest in 1998.

The operation was a success and Anwar, who had been increasingly confined to a wheelchair, was able to walk shortly afterwards, an aide said Tuesday.

In Malaysia, meanwhile, Anwar's lawyers won an initial victory in the Federal Court in a bid to clear his name completely, after the same court last Thursday overturned his sodomy conviction and set him free from nearly six years in jail.