Malaysia arrest warrant issued for Anwar

Malaysian police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in connection with a sodomy accusation by a former male aide, his lawyer said. Counsel Sankara Nair said police told him Anwar was formally "a suspect" in the case and faxed him a letter asking the politician to appear at a police station for questioning before Wednesday at 2 p.m. (0600 GMT).

"An arrest warrant on your client has been issued," said the letter, signed by investigating officer Jude Pereira. Nair distributed copies of the letter at a news conference held in Anwar's house. Anwar himself did not attend.

The sodomy accusation, made last month by a male aide, injected an unexpected twist to Malaysia's politics, which was already in turmoil. It helped slow down Anwar's campaign to topple the government, which suffered badly at the hands of his three-party People's Alliance in the March 8 general elections.

The ruling National Front coalition, which has traditionally enjoyed a two-thirds majority, now has only a 30-seat advantage over the opposition.

Anwar has dismissed the sodomy allegation as a political conspiracy to prevent him from bringing down the government with parliamentary defections. He has yet to officially comment on the accusation.

"I am expecting him to be arrested tomorrow, but I don't discount him being arrested earlier," Nair told reporters.

Police Criminal Investigation Department chief Mohamad Bakri Zinin warned authorities will take "necessary action" if Anwar does not present himself for questioning before the deadline.

Anwar will abide by the police order and is prepared for the arrest, Nair said. He can be held in custody for up to 14 days, after which he must be charged. Sodomy is a non-bailable offense, punishable by up to 20 years in jail.

The arrest warrant comes ahead of Anwar's unprecedented live television debate later Tuesday with a Cabinet minister over the government's unpopular fuel price rises.

Anwar was similarly accused of sodomy a decade ago, leading to his ouster as deputy prime minister and subsequent prison sentence. Malaysia's Supreme Court later overturned the conviction, but by then Anwar had served six years in jail on a related corruption charge.

While Anwar was behind bars, his wife Azizah Ismail formed the opposition People's Justice Party, which joined hands with two other established parties — the religion-based Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party and the ethnic Chinese-based Democratic Action Party — in the March elections.

Anwar's charisma and strategic skills were credited with boosting the combined opposition's strength in the 222-member Parliament from 19 to 82 seats.