PUTRAJAYA, Sept 2: Malaysia's highest court freed rebel politician Anwar Ibrahim from almost six years in jail on Thursday, overturning his conviction for sodomy in a shock ruling expected to win support for the new prime minister.

The former deputy prime minister, confined to a wheelchair because of a back complaint, used his first few minutes of freedom to urge the country's recently installed prime minister to drive harder on reform.

Wearing a broad smile over his neck brace, Mr Anwar held an impromptu news conference inside the domed Islamic-style courthouse, as hundreds of supporters rallied outside, raising his old battle cry of "Reformasi" - the reform movement he led before his 1999 jailing.

"Thank you, may God bless you," Anwar Ibrahim, 57, told the judges after the decision. His lawyers shouted "Allahu Akbar" after the court adjourned, closing a chapter in one of the nation's most extraordinary political sagas.

"Thank God it's over," Mr Anwar added, turning to address reporters. "I have to give credit to the new prime minister for not interfering with the judiciary ... I appeal to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to make the necessary reforms."

Before his jailing, Mr Anwar was a lightning rod for disaffected Malays, the country's majority ethnic grouping that dominates politics, and turned against the then prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, who was instrumental in both his rise and fall.

The decision could be a defining moment for the leadership of Abdullah Badawi, who succeeded Mr Mahathir a year ago and won a landslide election victory in March on an agenda of tolerance and a pledge to clean up corruption - an echo of Mr Anwar's own agenda. Mr Anwar, who Mr Mahathir had once anointed his political heir, is barred from politics until 2008 due to an earlier conviction on corruption.

US EMBASSY WELCOMES 'JUSTICE': It was "gratifying to see that justice has now been served," the US embassy said in a statement. "Finally justice has been done," said Param Cumaraswamy, vice-president of the International Commission of Jurists, a watchdog for judicial independence. -Reuters