Malaysia drops sex assault probe of Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim will not face charges over claims he sexually assaulted a male former aide, prosecutors said on Tuesday, the latest such scandal to tarnish the veteran politician’s career.

Muhammed Yusoff Rawther last month accused Anwar of trying to force him to have sex and filed a police complaint, but officials said there was not enough evidence to make a criminal case.

Anwar, seen as the likely successor to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, spent almost a decade in jail after being convicted of sodomising a young male aide, allegations that supporters say were aimed at ruining his political career. Sex between men remains illegal under colonial-era laws in the Muslim-majority country.