Hours after he was sworn in, Anwar staged a walkout to protest proposed legislation that critics say is meant to bolster a new sodomy case against him.

Anwar says his alliance is on track to topple the government by Sept. 16 with defections from the governing National Front coalition, which has ruled Malaysia since its independence from Britain in 1957.

“I am glad to be back after a decade. I really feel vindicated. I feel great,” Anwar said on Thursday.

Anwar was forced to resign his Parliament seat in 1999 amid a sodomy allegation and was jailed for six years after he was convicted of corruption and sodomizing his family driver. The sodomy conviction was overturned by Malaysia’s top court in 2004.

A special election was held Tuesday after his wife vacated her seat, which she had held for two terms during Anwar’s political exile. He regained the seat in a landslide victory.

Anwar’s triumph came on the heels of big gains by the opposition in the March general elections that loosened the governing National Front’s 51-year grip on power.

The Front returned to power with a simple majority of 140 seats in the 222-member house. Anwar’s People’s Alliance coalition increased its strength from 19 to 82 seats and needs 30 more to form a government.

“Anwar – whatever we think of him and many of us are deeply skeptical – is looking more and more like our future prime minister,” columnist Karim Raslan wrote in The Star daily on Thursday. “There is a mounting sense of inevitability to his impending succession.”

Tuesday’s election also was a gauge of public anger against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration, which the opposition has painted as corrupt, inefficient and uncaring toward minorities.

The opposition promises to scrap Malaysia’s decades-old system of preferences for ethnic Malays. The government says that would jeopardize the country’s unity.

Within hours of being sworn in on Thursday, Anwar led the opposition in a walkout to protest a proposed law that would make it mandatory for criminal suspects to provide DNA samples.

Critics say the law is meant to target Anwar, who has been accused of sodomizing a 23-year-old male aide in a case separate from the 1999 one.

Anwar has dismissed the allegation as a “sickening” government conspiracy to prevent his rise to prime minister and has refused to give a DNA sample to police, saying he fears it would be tampered with.

A court will hear his case on Sept. 10 to set a date for the trial. Under Malaysian law, even consensual sodomy is punishable by up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

On Thursday, Home Minister Syed Hamid’s closing speech on the DNA legislation debate was interrupted numerous times by heckling opposition lawmakers.

Just as Syed Hamid was finishing his speech, Anwar led all opposition members in a walkout, watched by stunned government lawmakers. He told reporters that the opposition had demanded the setting up of a select committee to study the bill first.

“We have walked out because they have refused to respond” to the request, he said. “So there’s no point in staying and participating in this debate.”

The official count showed Anwar has taken an unbeatable lead in Tuesday’s election, defeating the governing coalition’s candidate.

Anwar’s re-entry into parliament would formally complete the political rehabilitation of a man who was fired as deputy prime minister in 1998 and jailed for six years after he was convicted of corruption and sodomizing his family driver.

Anwar calls the latest sodomy charges against him “most sickening” and a homophobic politically motivated attack.

Anwar, who faced a similar accusation a decade ago, pleaded innocent to the charge during a hearing in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, held amid massive police security that underscored the political tensions surrounding the case.

Anwar says the charge is designed to thwart the rejuvenated opposition from forming the government and ending the National Front coalition’s uninterrupted 51-year rule since independence in 1957.

Government prosecutors accused Anwar, 60, of sodomizing his 23-year-old male aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, on June 26 in a condominium in Kuala Lumpur. Defense lawyer Sankara Nair said “there is no case,” adding that Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, has an alibi.

“This is a treacherous and malicious accusation. I am not guilty,” Anwar said after the charge was read in a courtroom packed with opposition activists.

The alleged sodomy came to light after Saiful made a police complaint on June 28. Saiful, who is under police protection, issued a statement through his lawyer saying he was thankful that Anwar was “finally brought to face justice.”

Sodomy is illegal even between consenting adults in this Muslim-majority nation and punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar indicated that Saiful would be immune from prosecution.

“Saiful in this particular case has become the primary witness,” Syed Hamid said. “If we charge a complainant, it will not be possible (to pursue the case). … This is how the legal system has worked, whether you like it or not.”

The court said Anwar could remain free on bail pending a Sept. 10 hearing to determine whether the case should be transferred to a higher court.

As he walked out of the court, scores of supporters gathered outside clapped and shouted “Reformasi!” – Anwar’s slogan calling for political reform. Riot police backed by trucks mounted with water cannon stood by.

“This is clearly a political game,” Anwar told reporters. “The charge is meant to embarrass me and nothing else. I’m not embarrassed.”

Anwar accused Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of orchestrating the prosecution to roll back inroads made by Anwar’s three-party opposition alliance in March general elections. Abdullah and other government leaders insist there is no conspiracy against Anwar.

“It is the dirty politics of a man who has lost support and very soon will lose power. We will fight them hard,” said Anwar.

Abdullah’s ruling coalition has only a 30-seat majority in Parliament and has been troubled by Anwar’s claims that he can persuade enough lawmakers to switch sides to bring down the government by Sept. 16.

International rights groups criticized the plan to prosecute Anwar.

“The Malaysian government appears to be manipulating the legal system to shore up support for its continued rule and undermine the opposition,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director, said there were “indications that the government is not playing by the rules in this case.”

But by being free on bail, Anwar is free to campaign for the Aug. 26 by-election in a parliamentary seat that his wife vacated last week.

Anwar is expected to win the easily in the constituency that has been his stronghold since the early 1980s, including nearly two decades when he was in the government. He was ousted in 1998 as the deputy prime minister and imprisoned over accusations that he sodomized his driver and abused his power to cover up the offense.

A court quashed the sodomy conviction and freed him in 2004, but the corruption conviction barred him from office until April 2008. Anwar denied the charges and has waited since then to re-enter Parliament.

Police went to Anwar’s home to serve an order for him to appear in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Thursday morning to face the charge, party officials and police said.

It will be the second time in a decade that the former deputy prime minister has been charged with sodomy, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Sodomy is illegal even among consenting adults in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

A 23-year-old male aide claimed Anwar had sodomized him in June. Anwar insists the allegation was fabricated to thwart his plan of seizing power from the government by mid-September. The government denies a conspiracy.

If the court refuses to release Anwar on bail pending a trial, it would prevent him from campaigning in the Aug. 26 by-election for a parliamentary seat that his wife vacated last week. Anwar would still be allowed to contest the seat.

Anwar’s attorney, Sankara Nair, said the police letter informed Anwar that he must come to court “to answer charges,” though no details were provided.

National deputy police chief Ismail Omar said in a statement the attorney general’s office had decided to charge Anwar after police “completed their investigation into a criminal sex case involving intercourse against the laws of nature.”

Anwar will face a challenger from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s ruling coalition. Analysts have forecast that Anwar will win because the constituency has been his stronghold since the early 1980s, including nearly two decades when he was in the government. He was ousted as deputy prime minister in 1998 and imprisoned over accusations that he sodomized his driver and abused his power to cover up the offense.

A court quashed the sodomy conviction and freed him in 2004, but the corruption conviction barred him from office until April 2008. Anwar denied the charges and has waited since then to re-enter Parliament.

Nearly 58,500 voters are eligible to cast ballots in Permatang Pauh. Nominees will file candidacy papers Aug. 16 and have 10 days to formally campaign, the Election Commission said.

The commission urged both sides to “obey the instructions of the security officials to safeguard public safety and security.”

Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who is now the opposition’s most charismatic figure, has said he expects the government to spend massive sums bribing voters to defeat him. Authorities have dismissed the claims, saying they are committed to fair elections.

Anwar is at the center of political turbulence that began in March when the ruling National Front coalition retained its power but lost its long-held two-thirds parliamentary majority control of five of Malaysia’s 13 states.

The coalition has a 30-seat majority in the 222-member Parliament but Anwar has said he can persuade enough lawmakers to switch sides to bring down the government by Sept. 16.

(Kuala Lumpur) Malaysian police arrested opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday on suspicion that he sodomized a male aide, pre-empting his voluntary appearance at the police headquarters to answer the allegation.

The arrest was likely to exacerbate the political divisions and tensions that have been running high in Malaysia since the opposition made unprecedented gains in the March general elections to whittle away the ruling coalition’s strength in Parliament.

Anwar has denied the sodomy accusation – made in a police complaint by the 23-year-old male aide last month – calling it a political conspiracy by the government to snuff out his campaign to bring the opposition to power by September.

About a dozen policemen, some of them wearing ski masks, cordoned off the road leading to Anwar’s house and stopped his car, said his lawyer Sankara Nair. He said Anwar was arrested for suspected sodomy.

Anwar was bundled into a police car with dark tinted windows and driven to the police headquarters where scores of supporters, including opposition lawmakers and his wife, Azizah Ismail, gathered.

After eight hours of interrogation, he was taken to a hospital for a medical examination, said Saiful Izham Ramli, another of Anwar’s lawyers. It was not clear why he needed to undergo an exam, he said, adding that Anwar would later be returned to police headquarters.

Meanwhile, the crowd of supporters milled around on sidewalks and on the main street, which was closed to traffic, while a heavy police presence including water cannons kept a close watch. There was no violence.

“This is not a criminal case but a political case,” said Azmin Ali, the vice president of Anwar’s People’s Justice Party, adding that the arrest was “outrageous and very uncivilized.”

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the police had acted within the law.

Criminal Investigation Department chief Mohamad Bakri Zinin said in a statement that Anwar was “safe under police custody.” Zinin refused to answer questions.

Nair said he expects Anwar to be charged under a law that makes sodomy, even between consenting adults, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail. Anwar can be held in custody for up to 14 days as a suspect without charge.

His wife Azizah said she is apprehensive because Anwar has a bad back. She said Anwar told him in a telephone conversation that police were “not gentle” with him.

The arrest was made at about 1 p.m. as Anwar was returning home from the administrative capital of Putrajaya. He had told reporters there that he would go to the police headquarters at 2 p.m., the deadline set by the police, and give them “my fullest cooperation.”

Deputy Home Minister Wan Farid Wan Salleh said police moved in because they learned he was heading home and suspected he would not make the deadline.

“He was arrested because there is a warrant of arrest, so the police executed the warrant,” Wan Farid told The Associated Press.

The current drama recalled a similar charge Anwar faced in 1998 when he was deputy prime minister and finance minister. The accusation led to his dismissal from the government and subsequent conviction and imprisonment. His downfall led to massive street protests by his supporters for weeks.

Malaysia’s Supreme Court later overturned the conviction, but by then Anwar had served six years in jail on a related abuse of power charge. He was freed in 2004, when he revived his political career as an opposition leader.

“There is no basis for this whole fabrication and malicious attacks. It is just a repeat of the 1998 script. You can see the pattern,” Anwar said in Putrajaya.

The sodomy accusation has hampered his campaign to topple the government, which suffered badly at the hands of his three-party People’s Alliance in the March 8 general elections.

The ruling National Front coalition, which has traditionally enjoyed a two-thirds majority, now has only a 30-seat advantage over the opposition. Anwar’s charisma and strategic skills were credited with boosting the opposition’s strength in the 222-member Parliament from 19 to 82 seats.

U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia James Keith said in a statement that the arrest of a prominent opposition figure, “raises serious questions and concerns.”

“We urge Malaysian authorities to resolve this matter in a manner that enhances confidence in the rule of law in Malaysia,” he said.