46. Prime Minister-In-Waiting

Major events in the life of Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, 61

1968: Mr Anwar emerges as a major political activist by helping to found the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, a leading students organisation.

1974: He is arrested and imprisoned without trial for 20 months after leading student protests against poverty among farmers.

1982: Then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad enlists Mr Anwar to join the United Malays National Organisation ruling party. He wins a parliamentary seat in northern Permatang Pauh constituency.

1983: Tun Dr Mahathir appoints Mr Anwar as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports.

1986: Mr Anwar becomes Education Minister and implements policies seen as favouring the ethnic Malay Muslim majority.

1991: Dr Mahathir places Mr Anwar in charge of the Ministry of Finance.

1993: Mr Anwar wins ruling party poll to become deputy prime minister.

April-June, 1997: Dr Mahathir takes a two-month holiday, leaving mr Anwar as acting leader.

June-September, 1997: Asian financial crisis hits Malaysia. Dr Mahathir reverses several actions Mr Anwar took.

Sept 2, 1998: Dr Mahathir fires Mr Anwar from the Cabinet after an economic policy dispute.

Sept 20, 1998: Mr Anwar is arrested for alleged sodomy after he leads a protest during which tens of thousands demand that Dr Mahathir resign.

Sept 29, 1998: Mr Anwar appears in court and pleads innocent to corruption and sodomy charges.

April 14, 1999: Mr Anwar is convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison. He is forced to resign his Parliament seat.

Aug 8, 2000: Mr Anwar is found guilty of sodomy and sentenced to nine years in prison, to begin after completion of six-year corruption sentence.

Oct 31, 2003: Dr Mahathir retires and hands power to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Sept 2, 2004: Malaysia's highest court overturns Mr Anwar's sodomy conviction and frees him.

March 8, 2008: Mr Anwar's three-party opposition alliance wins an unprecedented 82 seats in Malaysia's 222-member Parliament and wrests control of five states.

Apr 14, 2008: A ban on Mr Anwar holding political office stemming from his corruption conviction expires. Mr Anwar claims he can topple the government through parliamentary defections by mid-September.

June 29, 2008: Mr Anwar's 23-year-old male former aide accuses Mr Anwar of sodomising him.


July 31, 2008: Mr Anwars wife vacates her parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh to allow him to contest it.

Aug 7, 2008: Mr Anwar pleads innocent in court to a charge of sodomising his former aide.

Aug 26, 2008: Mr Anwar regains his parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh in a landslide electoral victory. ST/AP