Anwar's supporters have cast the sodomy allegation as an attempt by premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government to prevent the opposition from gaining ground. "Yes, he was arrested outside his house just before 1 p.m. (0500 GMT)," Ginie Lim, a spokesman for the Anwar's People's Justice Party, told Reuters. "He was not handcuffed but they pushed him into a police car."
Replaying scenes from a decade ago where his rise was snuffed out when he was jailed for sodomy and corruption, the ex-deputy premier is fighting a sodomy complaint as he leads a charge by the opposition to seize power by September. Anwar's arrest is likely to spark more tremors in financial markets, which have groaned under the weight of a protracted political drama that includes allegations of sex and murder against senior politicians.
The stock market was down 0.23 percent to 1,125.03 points by midday. It has fallen about 5 percent since the start of July.
Photo by REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad (MALAYSIA)
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