Malaysian leader faces another sex assault case

Kuala Lumpur, December 11

Malaysia’s leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim will be questioned by police over allegations he sexually assaulted a male former aide, officials said today.

Anwar has vehemently denied the claims by his former research assistant Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, who says he was assaulted last year. Anwar (72), seen as the likely successor to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, spent almost a decade in jail after being convicted of sodomising a young male aide, allegations that supporters say were aimed at ruining his political career.

Sex between men remains illegal under colonial-era laws in the Muslim-majority country. He was released from prison and pardoned last year after his alliance stormed to a shock victory against a corruption-plagued coalition that had ruled the country since independence from Britain in 1957.

But political tensions have escalated sharply, with Anwar’s nemesis-turned-ally Mahathir refusing to say exactly when he will hand over power, and vicious infighting erupting in his People’s Justice Party (PKR). The latest allegations emerged last week — just before the start of PKR’s annual congress — with Yusoff claiming that Anwar assaulted him and attempted to force him to have sex, and lodging a police report. — AFP