Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim talks to reporters following a court appearance in Kuala Lumpur on February 2. Anwar pleaded not guilty during his sodomy trial, saying the "malicious" charges were a conspiracy to end his political career. (AFP)

KUALA LUMPUR, February 03, 2010 (AFP) – Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim pleaded not guilty at the start of his sodomy trial on Wednesday, saying the "malicious" charges were a conspiracy to end his political career.

Prosecutors said they had DNA samples and other evidence to prove that Anwar had sexual relations with Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 24-year-old former aide in his office.

"It is a malicious allegation. It is a frivolous charge. It is trumped up by political masters using the prosecution for that purpose," Anwar told the High Court.

Anwar, 62, was sacked as deputy premier and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges a decade ago, but since then has reinvented himself as the leader of an opposition alliance that made unprecedented gains in 2008 elections.

He has accused Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife of being "personally involved in the conspiracy and frame-up" and intends to call them as witnesses in a trial that could redraw Malaysia's political landscape.

Sodomy, even among consenting adults, carries a penalty of up to 20 years in Malaysia, a conservative, mainly Muslim country.

Saiful was the first witness called in the trial, which comes after months of delays caused by defence applications to strike down the case and obtain access to evidence including medical reports and closed-circuit television footage.

Prosecutors said the alleged incident took place on June 26, 2008 at an upmarket apartment in Kuala Lumpur, and that Saiful underwent a medical examination at a hospital two days later.

"The prosecution will also bring specimens of semen from Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan's anus which is verified by the chemistry department as belonging to the accused," deputy public prosecutor Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden said.

He said that Anwar's guilt would be proven through Saiful's testimony, as well as "forensic evidence from doctors and chemists alongside circumstantial evidence and documentary evidence".

The Barisan Nasional coalition government has ruled Malaysia for half a century but suffered its worst ever results in the 2008 polls, when Anwar rallied the opposition to seize a third of parliamentary seats.

The trial, which defence lawyers say could last eight months, presents a major challenge for both sides of the political divide, and will be a high-profile test of Malaysia's justice system.

It comes as the opposition is increasingly beset by infighting, while the government is struggling to defend Malaysia's image as a moderate and stable Muslim-majority nation.

Human rights group Amnesty International has criticised as "dirty tricks" the charges against Anwar, who in his first trial was brought to court with a black eye after a vicious beating by the police chief.

Anwar, a married father-of-six, was a celebrated finance minister before being sacked in 1998 amid a policy row with then-premier Mahathir Mohamad during the Asian economic crisis.

He was convicted of sodomy and corruption but, after six years behind bars, his sexual misconduct charge was overturned and he was freed in 2004.