Anwar’s lawyer Shahid Adli Kamarudin said court deputy registrar K Pavani urged them to explore the possibility of settling out of court as the case was long outstanding.

“I informed the court official that my legal firm has to obtain further instructions from Anwar.”

He said lawyers for the defendants also held the same view.

Anwar is currently serving a five-year jail term in Sungai Buloh Prison after the Federal Court last year found him guilty of sodomising his former aide in 2008.

Adli said he informed Pavani on Tuesday’s Federal Court ruling which refused leave to the three defendants to appeal against a Court of Appeal ruling.

Last year, the appellate court held that S Nallakaruppan, Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd and its editor-in-chief, Abdul Aziz Ishak, could not use Anwar’s conviction and a remark about his sexuality to attack his character in the defamation suit.

The court said a criminal conviction cannot be tendered as evidence, as stated under Section 43 of the Evidence Act 1950.

Anwar had filed a RM100 million suit on March 26, 2012, against Nallakaruppan, Utusan Melayu and Aziz over an article published in Utusan Malaysia that claimed he was unfit to lead the opposition coalition and that he is bisexual.

Adli said the court had fixed the next case management before judicial commissioner Roslan Abu Bakar on Dec 15.

Lawyer Sarah Abishegam represented Nallakaruppan while K H Yeap appeared for Utusan and Aziz.