PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA - THE family of Mr Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the young man who accused Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him, says it is standing by him and stresses that no one has put him up against the former deputy premier.

An uncle of Mr Saiful, 23, who did not want to be named, said the family is acting on its own.

'We are not getting any backing from the Government. We are on our own but as a family we fully support Saiful,' he at his house here on Monday.

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 Datuk Seri Anwar but they turned him away upon learning who he was accusing.

Mr 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 Mr Saiful to 'explain from A to Z' his accusations against Mr 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 Mr Saiful had also contemplated suicide as he felt that he had committed a sin.

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

On why Mr 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. -- The Star/ANN.