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Malaysia's Anwar demands justice as verdict nears

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim issued a call for justice and a change of government as he and rest of the country braced Monday for a verdict in his politically charged sodomy trial. About 1,000 people gathered outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court in a show of support for the beleaguered Anwar, a one-time premier-in-waiting whose battles against his former ruling party have dominated Malaysian politics. The judge in the nearly two-year trial that has sparked charges of a government set-up to cripple the Anwar-led opposition was to announce the eagerly awaited verdict sometime after 9:00 am (0100 GMT). "It is time for change now," Anwar told AFP as he left his home for the courthouse in central Kuala Lumpur. "We must stop the government from inflicting injustice on all Malaysians." It is the second sodomy verdict in a dozen years for Anwar, a former deputy premier in the 1990s who was next in line to head the country's long-ruling government until a spectacular downfall. The charismatic Anwar had been groomed to succeed former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad until a bitter row between them saw Anwar ousted in 1998, beaten and jailed on sodomy and graft charges widely seen as politically motivated. Once the sodomy charge was overturned in 2004 and he was released, the affair threw Anwar into the opposition, which he led to unprecedented gains against his former ruling party in 2008 general elections. But new sodomy charges emerged shortly after those polls -- Anwar is accused of sodomising a former male aide -- sparking accusations they were concocted by the ruling United Malays National Organisation to stall the opposition revival. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia and punishable by 20 years in jail. Amid heavy security, more Anwar supporters were seen arriving at the courthouse by the minute as the time for the verdict approached. Some wore Muslim skullcaps, the blue headbands of Anwar's party or masks of the opposition leader's face, and many had streamed earlier from a nearby mosque following morning prayers. They shouted slogans denouncing the trial and "reformasi" (reform), the battle cry of Anwar supporters after his spectacular ousting in the late 1990s. "We hope Anwar will be freed today," said Bukhari Mohamad, 53, a finance company employee who travelled from the northern state of Terengganu for the verdict. "But in this case he will probably be found guilty because they want to stop Anwar," he said. Anwar repeated that he expects a guilty verdict. "I am also a political realist who understands that the desire of the government is to lock me up before the elections," he told AFP. The verdict could have major bearing on the electoral situation, with Prime Minister Najib Razak due to call new polls by early next year. However, many analysts believe a guilty verdict could boost the opposition. It would "invariably lend credence to the opposition’s claims that the charges and trial were politically motivated and orchestrated," said an analysis by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies. "It is hard to see how sentencing Anwar to prison would benefit the ruling party," it said. At any rate, Malaysian legal experts say Anwar has the right to stand in any upcoming elections until the appeal process is exhausted. Ahead of the verdict, hundreds of police officers and other security guarded the streets around the high court, which was cordoned off, and a water cannon truck was parked a short distance away. Police earlier gave rare consent for the courthouse rally, provided it does not get out of hand. Thousands took to the streets after Anwar's ousting in the 1990s, but Anwar has urged supporters to assemble peacefully, disperse quickly, and take any revenge at the ballot box later.