KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S de facto opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, denied on Sunday allegations that he had sodomised an aide, saying the charges were an attempt by the government to curb his rise to power.

A former deputy premier who was sacked in 1998 and later jailed for sodomy and corruption, Datuk Seri Anwar has seen a revival of his fortunes since a March poll when the opposition alliance recorded its best ever election result.

He said a police report lodged against him by his private assistant, Saiful Bahari, was an attempt by the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition to discredit him.

'The police report lodged against me earlier today is a complete fabrication,' Datuk Seri Anwar said in a statement read out by his lawyer as about 200 of his supporters gathered outside the hotel where the news briefing was held.

'I believe we are witnessing a repeat of the methods used against me in 1998 when false allegations were made under duress,' he said.

The charges have erupted after Datuk Seri Anwar?s spectacular return to political life at the helm of a resurgent opposition, after being sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and spending six years in jail on sex and corruption charges.

'This is clearly a desperate attempt by the Barisan Nasional regime to arrest the movement of the Malaysian people towards freedom, democracy and justice,' he said.

'I urge the Malaysian people to stand against the repressive forces that will be unleashed by the government in the coming days and weeks.'

Lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah said Datuk Seri Anwar had not been arrested.

A Kuala Lumpur police spokesman declined to comment and the Home Minister in charge of the police, Syed Hamid Albar, was not immediately available for comment.

Datuk Seri Anwar has always said the earlier sodomy and corruption charges were trumped up after he fell out with then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Datuk Seri Anwar's opposition alliance has been snapping at the heels of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government as public anger against rising prices and the ruling coalition's dismal showing in the March poll fuel calls for a change in leadership. -- REUTERS, AFP