Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday lodged a report in the Islamic courts against a former aide who accused the politician of sodomizing him.

Anwar filed the report in the Islamic sharia court in the capital Kuala Lumpur, charging that his accuser - who is also a Muslim - had wrongly accused him of sodomy without providing witnesses to back up the claims.

The former deputy premier arrived at the courts accompanied by his wife and president of his opposition People's Justice Party, Wan Azizah Ismail, early Wednesday.

Anwar later said he decided to take action against 23-year-old Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who claimed in a police report last month that Anwar had sodomized him, in order to clear his name from the "malicious" allegations.

"It's demeaning to me and my family. This slander ... attempts to mislead the Muslim population to attack me and my character," he said.

Under Islamic law, a person accusing another of fornication must provide four male witness or obtain a sworn confession of the person accused, the Star daily said.

If found guilty, Anwar's accuser faces a fine of up to 5,000 ringgit (1,465 dollars) and three years' jail sentence.

Saiful, whose report is still being investigated by police, has challenged Anwar to swear on the Muslim holy book, the Quran, to prove his innocence.

Anwar said Wednesday that although he was prepared to do so, he had been advised against it by Muslim clerics, adding that the challenge was merely a "gimmick."

Sodomy is punishable by 20 years' imprisonment in mainly-Muslim Malaysia's secular courts.

Anwar claims the latest allegations against him are fabricated and politically motivated, mirroring a similar situation in 1998 when he was fired by former premier Mahathir Mohamad and jailed for sodomy and abuse of power.

He was later cleared of the sodomy charges, but had served six years in jail for the corruption charges. (dpa)