Anwar back in court for defamation suit

 PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is in jail for sodomy, was brought to Malaysia's High Court on Tuesday (Feb 17) to testify at the hearing of a defamation suit he had brought against Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.

Anwar accuses Mr Anifah of defaming him over an allegation that Anwar offered him RM100m (US$28m) and a top government post.

This was allegedly to convince Mr Anifah to defect to the opposition, and take along ten MPs, in order to bring down the Barisan Nasional government in 2008.

Anwar, attired in a white shirt and black pants and accompanied by several prisons officers and policemen, arrived at the court at 8.50 am.

His wife, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail; daughters Nurul Izzah and Nurul Nuha; Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali and several opposition party leaders were present in the courtroom.

Anwar was brought by the police from the Sungai Buloh Prison where he is serving a five-year jail sentence after being found guilty of sodomising a former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in 2008.

The Federal Court on February 10 upheld the conviction and sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal, which had overturned a High Court decision acquitting him.