Anwar: In the name of God, I'm innocent

BATU PAHAT, Sept. 20 -- Witnessed by thousands who had turned up for his speech, Anwar Ibrahim last night invoked the name of God and swore solemnly that he had not committed sodomy despite yesterday's guilty plea entered by two men accused of submitting to him.

He denounced the accusers as heartless calumniators who had no regard for his family's dignity and the public's sensitivity.

In firm and measured tones, he swore that he was not involved in any such "despicable and accursed act." The slanderous charges, he added, were motivated by a desire to defeat once and for all his life-long struggle as a champion of Islam, human rights and social justice.

He said the method used in the current attempt to assassinate his character was no different from a stratagem favored by communist regimes, which was to portray the target of assassination as a hypocrite, one whose behaviour contradicts his avowed beliefs.

END (The full story will be posted late tonight, insha Allah)