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KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Monday defied a police order to appear for questioning on allegations of sodomy made by his former aide, a senior party official said.
Police had ordered Anwar to appear at a local police station at 2:00pm (0600GMT).
"Anwar will not obey the order. He is at home. He is upset with the action of the police to secure a court order to ban him from going to parliament today," Tian Chua, information chief for his Keadilan party, told AFP.
Police had barred Anwar from parliament, saying he was planning a rally in support of a motion brought by opposition MPs to discuss the shortcomings of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The director of the federal criminal investigation department, Bakri Zinin, said police would give Anwar sufficient time to turn up.
"Give him time. We have to follow the due process of law. Just wait. Don't jump the gun," he said when asked if Anwar would be arrested if he failed to turn up for questioning.
Anwar has vowed to fight the sodomy accusations levelled by 23-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, which he says have been fabricated by the government to prevent him from seizing power after landmark March elections.
Mohamad Saiful has been under police protection since accusing Anwar of sodomy -- the same charge that saw the opposition leader jailed a decade ago.
The claim threatens to derail a stunning political comeback by Anwar, who was sacked as deputy premier in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption allegations that he said were politically motivated.
Anwar has said he is poised to seize power from Abdullah with the help of government defectors, after his opposition alliance claimed one third of parliamentary seats and five states in March elections. - AFP/ir
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