Kuala Lumpur - A former aide of Mr Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday that a Malaysian government minister wrote a letter which accused the then finance minister of sex crimes and helped set the stage for his downfall. Mr Anwar's former private secretary, Mr Azmin Ali, said his sister, Ms Ummi Hafilda Ali, told him last year that the Trade Minister, Mr Megat Junid Megat Ayob, had written the letter in 1997 accusing Mr Anwar of adultery and sodomy, a crime in Malaysia.
Mr Azmin also told the court that his sister had been paid money to participate in a conspiracy against Mr Anwar. But a prosecutor attacked the credibility of the defence witness, saying that as a former aide to Mr Anwar he had received part of his income directly from the ousted minister.
The letter, at the heart of the trial, was signed by Mr Azmin's sister and sent to the Prime Minister, Mr Mahathir Mohamad, in August 1997. One year later Mr Mahathir sacked his former heir-apparent, provoking unprecedented anti-government protests by Anwar supporters which police eventually put down.