Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says he will be charged with sodomy on Thursday, accusing the government of trying to sabotage his bid to re-enter parliament in a by-election this month.
Mr Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who was jailed a decade ago on sodomy charges that were later overturned, faces new accusations by 23-year-old former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
"They will charge me and they will use this to humiliate and affect me in the by-election," he said after his lawyers said he had been ordered to appear in court.
He said he had earlier been informed that his alibi was strong and that there was insufficient evidence to charge him, and blamed the new development on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
"This charge is only possible on the orders from the prime minister, who today faces a confidence crisis and leadership struggle."
