Malaysia's Anwar gives alibi in sodomy case

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has provided an alibi to police to prove he did not sodomize a male aide but will not give a DNA sample for fear it could be manipulated to frame him, his lawyer said Friday.

DNA evidence was fabricated when Anwar was similarly accused of sodomy 10 years ago, and he does not trust the police not to do it again, his lawyer, Sivarasa Rasiah, said.

The new sodomy accusation against Anwar comes as the government is faced with growing public anger with the ruling coalition, which suffered election losses in March to a resurgent opposition. Anwar has vowed to build on that victory and topple the government in September.

He was arrested on Wednesday and interrogated for hours over the accusation by a young male aide who claimed to be a victim of sodomy. Anwar was released Thursday on bail, but remains a suspect in the case.

Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

During the interrogation Anwar gave "full details" of his alibi, Sivarasa said.

"We have given it in full to the police. We know that they know everything that has to be known," he said, refusing to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.

He said Anwar allowed himself to be stripped during a medical examination and even had his body parts measured. But he drew the line at giving a DNA swab, which he is not legally bound to do.

"Anwar has even more reason to believe of the probability that DNA evidence will be fabricated again," Sivarasa said. He suggested if Anwar was to give a sample, it could be planted on the accuser, who is living under police supervision.

The accusation by the 23-year-old aide was a political bombshell, dealing a severe blow to Anwar's resurgent three-party opposition alliance that won an unprecedented 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament in the March 8 elections.

The result reduced the ruling National Front coalition's strength to 140 seats, down from the two-thirds majority it enjoyed for the last 41 years. Anwar now aims to engineer defections from the National Front to take over the government by September.

He has dismissed the sodomy accusation as a political plot to stop him from toppling the government. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ministers have denied any conspiracy against Anwar.

On Thursday, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar challenged Anwar to give a DNA swab if he wants the truth to be known.

"What is he afraid of? He can even have his own doctor present when the tests are carried out," he said.

Anwar claims police fabricated evidence against him in the 1998 case when he was accused of having sex with his family driver. Anwar says he was framed by then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad during a power struggle.

Malaysia's Supreme Court eventually overturned the sodomy conviction against Anwar, but by then he had served six years in prison on a related abuse of power charge. He was freed in 2004 and revived his political career as an opposition leader.

Sivarasa said Anwar would consider giving a DNA sample if it can be "independently verified" that all procedures are "done professionally and without any interference from the police."

He also questioned why the police report citing the aide has not been made public and "remains shrouded in secrecy."