The acquittal of Malaysian opposition leader, Anwar Ebrahim, of charges of sodomy means that more than a decade of legal harassment is over. Early in his political life, Anwar was a close ally of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, but they split and Anwar went on to be the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government. He has always alleged that the successive accusations of corruption and sodomy have been politically motivated to keep him out of active politics.
In 1999, Anwar got his first sentence of six years imprisonment, which was for corruption, and then in 2000 got another nine years for sodomy. This was reversed in 2004, but in 2008, he was arrested again over new allegations of sodomy, which were dismissed yesterday. The political situation in Malaysia is ripe for change. Anwar's opposition holds an unprecedentedly high one-third of the seats in parliament, and elections are expected this year. Anwar has promised to devote all his time to opposing Prime Minister Najeeb Razzaq's coalition government, which has been in power since 2009. After the court's verdict, he tweeted: "In the coming election, voice of the people will be heard and this corrupt government will be toppled from its pedestal of power."
