KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - MALAYSIAN opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim may give his DNA sample to the police investigating a sodomy claim if his accuser's DNA tests are independently verified, his lawyer said on Friday.

Mr Anwar, who has dismissed the allegation as a high-level conspiracy to quash the opposition's rise, has refused a DNA test because he said it could be tampered with.

'Anwar has even more reason to believe the probability that DNA evidence will be fabricated once again,' Mr Anwar's lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah told a news conference.

'It would have to be independently verified first that all medical examinations and sample taking relating to the complainant were done professionally and without any interference from the police,' he said.

Mr Anwar, a former deputy premier, is leading the charge by the opposition to oust the government at a time when the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which has led Malaysia since independence from British rule in 1957, is facing its worst crisis in 50 years.

The sodomy charges against Mr Anwar, lodged by a former aide, mirror events in 1998 when his rise was halted by a jail term for sodomy and corruption. The Supreme Court overturned the sodomy conviction six years later.

Police said on Thursday they could compel Mr Anwar, who allegedly sodomised the 23-year-old aide, to give a DNA sample.

Police have not charged Mr Anwar.

Mr Anwar spent a night in police custody earlier this week and has been released on bail. He told reporters on Thursday that he was questioned for five-and-half hours and was also strip-searched.

Mr Sivarasa said Mr Anwar would fight any legal attempts by the police.

'Under our laws, we cannot force a person to give a blood sample. And if an application is made to court, given the present circumstances we will resist it for all the concerns that we've already expressed,' he said.

Mr Sivarara said Mr Anwar has provided details of his alibi to the police.

'He has given all the information to police. Details of witnesses have been provided. The full details of the alibi all have been given but I'm not at liberty to discuss it here,' he said.

Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is regarded as a 'heinous crime' and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison in mainly Muslim Malaysia.

The Anwar saga, part of a drawn-out political drama, has hurt financial markets with investors fearing a sudden change of government and economic policy. -- REUTERS