Anwar 'to quit embassy sanctuary'

Mr Anwar has accused the government of fabricating the allegations

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says he will leave the Turkish embassy in Kuala Lumpur soon, after taking refuge there on Sunday.

He fled to the embassy after an aide accused him of sodomy, and said he would stay there until the government could guarantee his safety.

Mr Anwar, 60, denies the allegations, which he says are designed to block his political resurgence.

His lawyers have now filed a libel suit against his 23-year-old male accuser.

The suit, which also accuses the former aide of filing a false police report, was filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court early on Monday.

Police beating

The allegations against Mr Anwar emerged on Sunday morning. They involve an aide who has worked alongside him from the beginning of the year.

Speaking from the Turkish mission, Mr Anwar initially said that he feared being attacked if he left and required "categorical assurance" on his safety before he left.

He later told journalists he would leave the embassy shortly after 1000 GMT (1800 local time).

Mr Anwar went to the Turkish mission on Sunday

Mr Anwar was beaten in police custody after allegations of corruption and sodomy were filed against him in 1998.

The former deputy prime minister described those charges as politically motivated. He was jailed, but the sodomy conviction was later overturned.

He was freed from prison in 2004. However, the corruption conviction barred him from holding political office until 15 April 2008.

On Sunday he accused the government of making up the accusations.

"I'm now eligible to contest the elections, so they have to fabricate the same script being repeated in my earlier case in 1998, 1999," he told the BBC.

But Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi denied that there was any move "to cause [Anwar] trouble or harass him or raise such issues to undermine him".

Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim met Turkish ambassador Barlas Ozener to discuss the situation.

"The ambassador is of the view that he would like Anwar to be out of the premises as soon as possible, as congenially as possible," the Associated Press quoted Mr Rais as saying.

The allegations come amid political upheaval in Malaysia.

Mr Anwar led an opposition alliance to considerable gains in March's general election.

They won control of the legislatures in five out of the country's 13 states, and an unprecedented 82 of the 222 seats in the House of Representatives.

The ruling National Front saw its worst showing in decades, prompting calls for the prime minister to resign.

Since then, Mr Anwar has said he has the support of enough lawmakers to topple the government but is waiting for the right moment.