Anwar defamation case thrown out

Mr Anwar says Dr Mahathir has seriously damaged his reputation

A Malaysian judge has rejected a defamation case brought by the opposition politician Anwar Ibrahim, against former leader Mahathir Mohamad.

Mr Anwar had sought 100m ringgit (US$28.5m) from Dr Mahathir for accusing him of homosexuality.

Mr Anwar, who was Dr Mahathir's former deputy, was sacked in 1998 and served six years in prison on accusations of sodomy and corruption.

The sodomy conviction was later quashed and Mr Anwar released in 2004.

Mr Anwar has said that Dr Mahathir's comments were "falsely and maliciously" made and caused "irreparable damage" to his reputation.

The former deputy prime minister has recently returned to frontline politics, fighting a fierce campaign in recent by-elections for the opposition People's Justice Party, led by his wife.

'Public interest'

The latest lawsuit stemmed from remarks made by Dr Mahathir at a human rights conference he hosted in late 2005, which repeated the allegation.

"Imagine having a gay prime minister. Nobody would be safe," Dr Mahathir said.

Mr Anwar filed his defamation suit last year, and Dr Mahathir then submitted a petition to the Kuala Lumpur High Court to prevent it from going to trial.

On Wednesday, Judge Tengku Maimon Tuan Mat granted Dr Mahathir that application, saying that the former prime minister's remarks were fair comment made in the public interest.

Mr Anwar is expected to appeal.

Mr Anwar has always said his convictions for sodomy and corruption were politically motivated after he emerged as a rival to Dr Mahathir in 1998.

Mr Anwar has already successfully sued the author of a pamphlet, Fifty Reasons Why Anwar Ibrahim Cannot Be Prime Minister, which was widely circulated soon before he was sacked.

He also won damages from a police chief who beat him while he was in custody in 1998.

Mr Anwar is currently barred from holding office until 2008 because the corruption conviction against him still stands.