Malaysia's ousted finance minister, Mr Anwar Ibrahim, suffered setbacks in his sex and corruption trial as his wife launched a reform movement yesterday in a challenge to the Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mr Anwar's former driver repeated allegations that he had been sodomised by the then cabinet minister, and provoked gasps of revulsion when he described sex with Mr Anwar and his adopted brother.
A High Court judge, Mr Augustine Paul, dealt the defence a blow when he rejected its demand that the former driver's testimony be thrown out.
The testimony and judge's ruling all but dashed the defence's hopes of turning the driver, Mr Azizan Abu Bakar, into an asset in the trial at the core of Malaysia's civil turmoil. Dozens of Mr Anwar's supporters cheered his lawyers as they left the court in the capital.
Mr Anwar's wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, announced yesterday that she was forming a national organisation to press for reform and harness the energies of the incipient protest movement.
She said she was the president of the organisation.
There had been speculation that Mr Anwar's supporters would form a party under the name Reformasi. But Dr Wan Azizah said her movement was not a political party but "a reform movement."