Malaysia's Anwar accuses govt of 'dirty tricks' in by-election

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

PENANG, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia's opposition figurehead Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday accused the government of using "dirty tricks" to disrupt his campaign to return to parliament in a by-election.

Anwar said the government had ordered its supporters to heckle him over allegations he sodomised a young male aide, which he has dismissed as a plot to derail his ambitions of seizing power.

And he said the ruling coalition was playing on tensions between Malaysia's majority Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians, by sending SMS text messages to Malay villagers slamming Anwar as an "agent of the Chinese".

"These are dirty tactics. It is a malicious campaign on their part and is completely immoral," he told a press conference.

"Look at our campaign...