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From: AFP
Date: 05 May 1999
Time: 01:54:04
KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (AFP) -
The woman who first accused ousted deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim of sexual misconduct is writing a book on the saga leading to his conviction last month, a report said Wednesday.
Ummi Hafilda Ali said the book would be about her experiences after she wrote a letter to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 1997, alleging that Anwar was a homosexual and that he committed adultery.
"I am halfway through the book which will run into at least 15 chapters. I want Malaysians to know my side of the story," she was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
"The book is very important to me because so much has been said about me, including negative things."
It will be titled either "Ummi: The True Story" or "Anwar vs Ummi", and expected to be ready by August, she said, adding that it would be published in English and Malay.
The book will begin with her arrest by police in 1997 as part of the probe into the allegations and end with the aftermath of Anwar's six-year jail sentence for corruption last month.
Ummi, a star witness in Anwar's corruption trial, said she would write the book herself.
The 31-year-old advertising company boss is the sister of Anwar's former private secretary, Mohamad Azmin Ali.
In her letter to Mahathir in 1997, Ummi accused Anwar of having sex with his former driver, Azizan Abu Bakar, as well as with Azmin's wife.
The letter was key prosecution evidence to the corruption trial, which found Anwar guilty of using his position to get police to cover up the sexual allegations.
Anwar, who was fired and arrested in September last year, is now serving a six-year sentence but faces a second trial on June 7 for a fresh sodomy charge involving Azizan, who was closely acquainted with Ummi.
Ummi grabbed headlines last week when she sued a Malaysian newspaper for libel, alleging that she was described as a "small-time hooker" in a satirical article in March.
She sought damages of 60 million ringgit (16 million dollars) from Harakah, a popular bi-weekly newspaper published by the opposition Parti Islam Semalaysia.