<p class="title">Anwar Ibrahim, in line to take over Malaysia's premiership, will be called in for questioning over allegations that he had sexually assaulted a former male aide, police said on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anwar has denied the accusation by the aide, Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, describing it as "politics at its worst".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muhammed Yusoff is being represented by a lawyer who counts Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad among his clients. On Tuesday, Mahathir promised to hand over power to rival-turned-ally Anwar in spite of the latest allegations against him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muhammed Yusoff said last week that Anwar had attempted to force him to have sex in September 2018.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police recorded Muhammed Yusoff's statement on Monday, criminal investigations department director Huzir Mohamed said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Statements from Anwar Ibrahim and several related witnesses will be taken as soon as appropriate appointment times are set," Huzir said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In a statement to media, Anwar said he was grateful to the police for speeding up investigations into the "latest defamatory allegations" against him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I would like to stress that I am ready to give my statement to the police immediately to assist in the investigation."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anwar has spent nearly a decade in jail on two separate counts of sodomy and for corruption, charges that he and his supporters maintain were aimed at ending his political career.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muhammed Yusoff's lawyer, Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, denied a conflict of interest in taking on a case against the prime minister's planned successor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The prime minister is still my client but that does not mean I should not take on cases just because they involve his ministers or people in his administration," Mohamed Haniff told Reuters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I did not speak to (Mahathir) before taking on this case, but we did talk about it afterwards. He was surprised but he understood."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mahathir's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mohamed Haniff denied charges of a political conspiracy in the allegations against Anwar, saying Muhammed Yusoff stood by his statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's time to let the police investigate," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Same-sex acts are illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia and carry penalties of up to 20 years in jail if convicted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A former deputy premier, Anwar was first sacked and then jailed in 1999 during Mahathir's first 1981-2003 tenure as prime minister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mahathir and Anwar mended fences in 2016, joining forces to lead the opposition to an unexpected election victory last year. </p>.<p class="bodytext">President of the People’s Justice Party Anwar Ibrahim(Photo by REUTERS)</p>
<p class="title">Anwar Ibrahim, in line to take over Malaysia's premiership, will be called in for questioning over allegations that he had sexually assaulted a former male aide, police said on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anwar has denied the accusation by the aide, Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, describing it as "politics at its worst".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muhammed Yusoff is being represented by a lawyer who counts Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad among his clients. On Tuesday, Mahathir promised to hand over power to rival-turned-ally Anwar in spite of the latest allegations against him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muhammed Yusoff said last week that Anwar had attempted to force him to have sex in September 2018.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Police recorded Muhammed Yusoff's statement on Monday, criminal investigations department director Huzir Mohamed said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Statements from Anwar Ibrahim and several related witnesses will be taken as soon as appropriate appointment times are set," Huzir said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In a statement to media, Anwar said he was grateful to the police for speeding up investigations into the "latest defamatory allegations" against him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I would like to stress that I am ready to give my statement to the police immediately to assist in the investigation."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anwar has spent nearly a decade in jail on two separate counts of sodomy and for corruption, charges that he and his supporters maintain were aimed at ending his political career.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muhammed Yusoff's lawyer, Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, denied a conflict of interest in taking on a case against the prime minister's planned successor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The prime minister is still my client but that does not mean I should not take on cases just because they involve his ministers or people in his administration," Mohamed Haniff told Reuters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I did not speak to (Mahathir) before taking on this case, but we did talk about it afterwards. He was surprised but he understood."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mahathir's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mohamed Haniff denied charges of a political conspiracy in the allegations against Anwar, saying Muhammed Yusoff stood by his statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's time to let the police investigate," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Same-sex acts are illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia and carry penalties of up to 20 years in jail if convicted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A former deputy premier, Anwar was first sacked and then jailed in 1999 during Mahathir's first 1981-2003 tenure as prime minister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mahathir and Anwar mended fences in 2016, joining forces to lead the opposition to an unexpected election victory last year. </p>.<p class="bodytext">President of the People’s Justice Party Anwar Ibrahim(Photo by REUTERS)</p>