PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA - Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's family stands by him and stresses that no one put them up to accuse Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy.

An uncle of Mohd Saiful, who did not want to be named, said the family was on its own in this matter.

'We are not getting any backing from the Government. We are on our own but as a family we fully support Saiful.

'We had asked for the Government's help but they have chosen to back off and not dirty their hands,' he said when met at his house here yesterday.

The uncle added that they had repeatedly called the Inspector-General of Police but were told to stop calling his number.

He said his nephew had initially approached the Bukit Aman police station to lodge his report against Anwar but they turned him away upon learning who he was accusing.

Mohd Saiful eventually found a police station in Kuala Lumpur which was willing to accept his report, his uncle added.

'Saiful is no longer in the hospital but is under police protection and even our family does not know his whereabouts,' he said.

The uncle said the family would eventually hold a press conference to allow Saiful to 'explain from A to Z' his accusations against Anwar.

'Our family is a small family and we do not benefit in any way from Saiful's revelation.

'We are not getting any money and in fact our family is being cut off by other people.

'Saiful is sacrificing himself for the country even though he knows that society will scorn him and the family for his accusation,' the uncle said.

He said Mohd Saiful had also contemplated suicide as he felt that he had committed a sin.

The uncle said he had been a strong supporter of Anwar but was disillusioned now.

On why Mohd Saiful had pictures with of him posing with Cabinet Ministers and a Prime Minister's Department aide, his uncle said it was normal for a student leader to take pictures with government officials.