KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today filed an application to review the Federal Court's decision upholding his removal from the cabinet in 1998 by then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Anwar's counsel Sankara Nair said in a statement today, Anwar's application for review was filed at the Federal Court registry in Putrajaya at about 3pm.

The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leader was attempting to review the Federal Court's ruling on March 8, which held that his removal as deputy prime minister and finance minister a decade ago was lawful and constitutional.

The Federal Court had unanimously dismissed Anwar's appeal, ruling that the prime minister had the power to appoint and dismiss ministers and that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had no discretion to reject or question the prime minister's discretion in cabinet appointments.

Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, who sat with Federal Court judges Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong and Datuk Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff, also said the King's role was "merely a formality" as the latter was a constitutional monarch.

In his suit filed on Nov 13, 1998 against Dr Mahathir and the federal government, Anwar contended that Dr Mahathir had acted "unlawfully" as it was the King who was supposed to remove ministers on the prime minister's advice.

However, it is currently uncertain if the Federal Court would now agree to review its decision after a separate panel on Feb 25 decided that Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995 did not confer jurisdiction on the Federal Court to review its own decisions.

Rule 137 states that the Federal Court had the inherent powers to make any order "as may be necessary to prevent injustice or to prevent an abuse of the process of the court".

Asked to comment, Sankara said a review was still permitted "under very limited circumstances".

In that decision, Federal Court Judge Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and two other judges unanimously dismissed Anwar's application to review the apex court's decision of Jan 20 which disallowed Anwar to obtain the additional documents and evidence he sought in his sodomy trial.

On another matter, Sankara said Anwar also filed his petition of appeal at the Court of Appeal registry today against trial judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah's refusal to recuse himself from hearing Anwar's sodomy trial.

The Court of Appeal had earlier fixed March 19 to hear Anwar's appeal on Zabidin's recusal.

Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur High Court has scheduled March 25 to hear another mention of Anwar's sodomy trial.

The Permatang Pauh MP has pleaded not guilty to sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara here on June 26, 2008.