Malaysian Opposition Leader Denounces, Denies Sodomy Charge

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, once the deputy premier of predominantly-Mulsim Malaysia, hit back at an accuser who said that Ibrahim had "sodomized" him, calling the claim part of a "political conspiracy."

Ibrahim, leader of the government's opposition, said that the accusation against him was calculated to prevent him from gaining political power, reported a July 1 article at Reuters.

Insofar as the accusation has now commanded Ibrahim's attention to the exclusion of a planned protest of a recent Malaysian by-election, the effect has indeed been to kill the momentum of Ibrahim's political rise.

Said Ibrahim in a press conference, "The plan was for the announcement [of the protest] to be made today."

Added Ibrahim, "It has been derailed for some days, naturally."

Similar charges made against Ibrahim in 1998 landed him in prison for six years before the courts overturned the conviction--but not without noting that the evidence suggested that Ibrahim had "involved in homosexual activities," reported the New Straits Times in a July 1 article.

The Reuters article said that under Malaysian law, sodomy carried a penalty of up to twenty years in prison.

Ibrahim's supporters are sticking by him in the current crisis, with a crowd accompanying him to a police station with cries of, "Reformasi!"

Ibrahim led the crowd to the police station, where he filed a claim that the previous charge had been wholly invented by the national police chief and the attorney general.

The accuser is a former aide to Ibrahim, Saiful Bukhari, 23, who Ibrahim claimed was an associate of Najib Razal, the current Deputy Prime Minister of the country.

Said Ibrahim, "This claim is frivolous and nonsensical."

Added Ibrahim, "I would advise them to drop this case because it did not happen."

Deputy Prime Minister Najib has said that he has nothing to do with the matter. Najib, who is seen as Ibrahim's main opponent for political might, is expected to succeed the current Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to the government's top position.

For his part, the Prime Minister has assured both Ibrahim's family and the country at large that the government would guarantee the safety of Ibrahim and Bukhari alike.

Said Prime Minister Badawi, "For the government, we will assure the safety of whomever that is involved, either the complainant or the accused."

Vowed Malaysia's leader, "The government will not do harm or make baseless allegations against anyone," the Reuters story reported.

The timing of the accusation might be viewed as suspect, coming as they have just as Ibrahim was working to bring disaffected members away from the leading party and into his own opposition party.

The opposition is in a strong position to vie with Badawi and Najib's administration, reported Reuters, with the opposition coalition taking nearly half of the nation's state governments and coming close to a majority in the Parliament.

Reuters reported that the sensational claims, and Ibrahim's vigorous counterclaims, had led to currency dealers avoiding the national currency, the ringgit, while the country's stock market also suffered.

The political fallout has also been wide-reaching, as the accusations of sodomy against the opposition leader diverted attention away from a number of other controversies and crises, Reuters reported, including public discontent with high costs, suggestions that Najib might be linked to the murder of a Mongolian model, and charges that an ex-premier had rigged the appointments of judges.