Malaysia Anwar fears govt plan to sabotage election

By Niluksi Koswanage

KLANG, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Sunday that he feared the government may resort to "massive funding and bribery" to sabotage his chances of winning a parliamentary election.

Anwar, who is battling allegations that he raped a former male aide, plans to stand for election from a constituency in northern Penang state which his wife has vacated.

"If... Barisan Nasional decide(s) to give rough with massive funding and bribery then we will have to be really prepared," Anwar told reporters referring to the ruling coalition.

"We will have to see how many 100 million (ringgit) will be brought there (to the constituency). We are not taking it for granted," he said.

Anwar's wife Wan Azizah resigned last week to make way for him to contest and regulations state that a by-election must be held within the next 60 days.

The Election Commission will meet on Wednesday to decide on the election date.

Anwar, a former deputy premier, was barred from running for public office until this April because of a conviction for corruption.

He has separately dismissed the sodomy allegation as a political ploy to derail the opposition's rise after it deprived the government of a two-thirds majority in elections in March.