Comeback, Interrupted.(Point of View)(Anwar Ibrahim)

The scandal's timing is fishy, and Malaysia's rulers haven't hesitated to squelch dissent in the past.

Just a few years ago, Anwar Ibrahim--Malaysia's former deputy prime minister turned opposition leader--was behind bars, and the career of this Western- and market-friendly reformer seemed over. Then, last March, Anwar shocked even his most devout supporters by roaring back onto the political scene, leading the opposition to record gains in parliamentary elections. His opposition coalition won control of five of Malaysia's 13 states and 49 percent of the overall vote. Since then, he has sought to solidify his power base. He announced plans to run for Parliament himself in a by-election in July, and recently said that enough legislators might defect from the long-ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO)-led coalition that the opposition could win control of the country by September. If that happened it would give Anwar a shot at the prime minister's office--and help him chart one of the greatest political comebacks in history.

All seemed to be going according to plan until June 29, when Anwar got a text message from an unknown source informing him that Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old aide, had accused him of sodomy, a crime punishable by 20 years' imprisonment in Muslim-majority Malaysia. The sense of deja vu was strong, for UMNO and former prime minister Mahathir Mohammad had used just such a charge to derail Anwar's political career in 1998, when Anwar started showing uncomfortable signs of independence from his repressive old mentor. Now it seems the ruling party may be up to its old tricks once more.

Anwar has called the latest charge against him a "complete fabrication," saying it's an attempt to "undermine the forces of reform and renewal." Malaysia's embattled current prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, has denied all claims of a government plot. But voters aren't buying it: a recent poll by the independent Merdeka Center showed that only 6 percent of respondents believed the allegation against Anwar was true, and 60 percent thought it was politically motivated.

Their skepticism is understandable. The scandal's timing is certainly suspicious. UMNO has never hesitated in the past to squelch dissent when it has felt threatened, and its 50-year grip on power has never been more tenuous than now. Ever since the election, the prime minister has been under pressure to step down. After the vote, Mahathir said that in a similar situation "the Japanese would have performed hara-kiri." On June 18, one of UMNO's coalition partners announced a no-confidence motion against Abdullah (though it never followed through). Then, last week, the prime minister announced ...