KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has dared Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to swear on the Quran to prove he is innocent of the sodomy charge he faces.

He said Anwar should do so just like his accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan who had sworn upon the Quran that Anwar had sodomised him.

"Anwar should also be doing the same thing, instead of just giving ceramah everywhere, to prove his innocence," Dr Mahathir said when approached by reporters during his visit to the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Show 2008 in Serdang yesterday.

Referring to Saiful's swearing on the Quran at the Federal Territory mosque here yesterday, Dr Mahathir said it was the former Anwar aide's way of proving he was not lying when he alleged he had been sodomised by the PKR adviser on June 26.

Dr Mahathir said that as a figure on the Malaysian political scene, Anwar should act in accordance with public sentiment that he said, required that he give a sworn statement pertaining to the sodomy allegation.

However, the action would be considered to be just a good political gesture because Anwar himself had to provide legitimate evidence to prove that he was not guilty in the matter.

Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said Saiful did the right thing by swearing upon the Quran.

"It is to demonstrate that he was telling the truth. I congratulate him for his courage," he said.

Former PKR Youth chief Mohamed Ezam Mohd Nor said it was not easy for Saiful to do what he did.

"If I were Anwar, the next thing I'll do is to go to the mosque and prove my innocence. The legal way is not enough."

The Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia said in a statement that Anwar should respond to Saiful's latest move.