Datuk Seri Anwar has said repeatedly that he has won over sufficient defectors from the government to win power, but a self-imposed deadline of Sept 16 passed without result and his calls for a recall of parliament this week for a confidence vote were denied.

'We will proceed cautiously towards our goals and we agreed neither to be provoked into hasty action nor to take an irresponsible approach that would lead to instability and greater uncertainty in country,' Mr Anwar said in a statement issued after talks with one of his coalition partners.

He said removing the ruling coalition which has dominated Malaysian politics for half a century was an enormous task and that he wanted to do it smoothly and within the law.

'I appeal to Malaysian citizens, particularly those who want to see a change, to understand this and be a bit more patient because we do not want to transgress the constitution, rules and procedures,' he later told a press conference.

'It will take a lot of patience, a lot of resolve, to try and unravel this complex web controlled by a few cronies,' he said.

Mr Anwar has said repeatedly that he has 30 government defectors willing to side with his 82 MPs in the 222-member parliament. He has not named the MPs and his call for the recall of parliament was refused by Datuk Seri Abdullah who has dismissed his claims as a 'mirage'.

Mr Anwar also denied that officials from his party had held talks with the government, contradicting a statement made by his spokesman on Tuesday.

But he said he had written to the king to inform him of his actions so far, although he was not yet seeking an audience with the monarch, who would need to approve any change in government.

Mr Anwar dismissed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's claims that he was merely bluffing about the defectors, whose names he has refused to release.

'If they think I'm a liar, put it to the test and have a vote taken,' he said.

Parliament resumes on Oct 13 after a break for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan but even then the opposition faces procedural barriers to mounting a no-confidence vote.

After five decades of rule by the same governing coalition, Malaysia's political outlook has been made more risky by the success of the opposition in elections in March, when it won more than a third of parliamentary seats.

The 61-year-old former deputy prime is also fighting what he says are politically motivated charges of sodomy, a repeat of allegations which saw him convicted in the late 1990s and then imprisoned.

'You never know justice in this country,' Mr Anwar said as he entered the court on Wednesday.

The current case was adjourned until Oct 7 amid a legal wrangle over whether it should be transferred to a higher court.

Normally such serious charges are dealt with by a High Court judge, but Mr Anwar's lawyers, fearing the appointment of a judge who they believe might be biased against him, have opposed the move. -- REUTERS, AFP