'It saddens me, bothers me, upsets me that they have to undergo this again,' said the wife of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. The couple have six children. The eldest, Miss Nurul Izzah, 27, is a Member of Parliament.

Datuk Seri Anwar, 60, is facing a fresh allegation of sexual assault, similar to the charge he faced in 1998.

He was jailed for six years in the first case, but the Federal Court overturned the conviction in 2004 after Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi took over from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Ms Wan Azizah, 55, an eye doctor by training, said she still had faith in her husband despite the new sodomy claim.

'The first time, it did not work. So they are trying to do it again. It is not right, it is a complete fabrication,' the leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) told Reuters yesterday.

'Politically, Anwar was gaining strength. He has to be stopped at any cost. It is a desperate measure.'

The opposition, spearheaded by PKR, has been wooing defectors from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in its bid to seize power for the first time in Malaysian history.

Ms Wan Azizah said that despite the latest allegation against Mr Anwar, the opposition would forge ahead with its efforts to topple the government by mid-

September. The coalition is short of 30 seats in its bid to take control of the 222-member Parliament.

'Well, optimistically, I think we can keep to the (September) deadline,' said Ms Wan Azizah. 'The expectation is very high from the people.'

She said any change of power would be smooth and peaceful.

'We do not want to have any upheaval or turmoil...We do not want to have the feeling of uneasiness.'

Mr Anwar said this week he had hoped to unveil plans to contest a by-election, but that had now been derailed because of the sexual assault allegation. But he vowed to go on a nationwide tour starting on Sunday to clear his name.

Ms Wan Azizah said the threat to Mr Anwar's life was real, drawing parallels to the assassination of iconic Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

'You cannot discount the fact that he is the main obstacle for people who want to hold on to power,' she said.

REUTERS