UNITED NATIONS - MALAYSIA demanded on Saturday that foreign governments stop interfering in its affairs by criticising the sodomy charges against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is challenging the ruling coalition.

Datuk Seri Anwar says the case is a politically motivated attempt to scuttle his bid for power against the United Malays National Organisation, the biggest party in a coalition that has ruled Malaysia for 51 years.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice irked Malaysia earlier this year by saying Washington would speak out in legal cases it considered political in nature, including the Anwar case.

'We could if we choose question the legal basis of the Guantanamo detention without trial but we did not,' Foreign Minister Rais Yatim told the UN General Assembly in a reference to the US-run prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for terrorism suspects.

'While same-sex fornication and marriage are acceptable in California, it does not mean that sodomy, which is a crime in many countries in Asia, is to be impugned or derided upon,' said Dr Rais, who did not directly mention the Anwar case.

The Umno party and Barisan Nasional coalition it leads are facing the prospect of losing power to a resurgent opposition alliance led by Mr Anwar, a former deputy premier.

Mr Anwar is free on bail and his sodomy trial has been adjourned until early October. He was convicted and imprisoned on charges of corruption and sodomy in the late 1990s in a case that derailed his rise in the political ranks.

Malaysia's prime minister has been under pressure to quit since March when the opposition won over a third of the seats in parliament. Rifts have begun to appear in the Umno as the party tries to stave off the opposition challenge.

Mr Anwar is accused of engaging in a homosexual act with a former aide. Sodomy is a crime punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment in Malaysia.