A crisis of credibility hangs over Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as he prepares to face a sexual harassment suit later this month, the latest in a series of controversies that has rocked his administration and cast doubts over his reformist agenda.
Anwar faces allegations that he has sexually assaulted a former aide, as the case threatens to dredge up past sex scandals that hounded him for years while he was in opposition.
A high court in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday threw out Anwar’s attempt to invoke legal immunity as prime minister against the suit filed by Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, ruling there were no constitutional provisions for such privileges. The trial for the case is scheduled to begin on June 16.
In accepting the ruling, Anwar said on Wednesday his application was “never about seeking personal immunity or escaping legal scrutiny”.
“It concerns the integrity of our constitutional system and the need to ensure that high public office is protected from litigation that may be strategically timed, politically motivated or institutionally disruptive,” he said in a statement.
Anwar’s reputation has taken a beating in recent weeks.
