Anwar starts bids for seat

Malaysia's de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, facing a sodomy charge and a fractious alliance, officially kicked off his bid for power when he filed papers yesterday to run for parliament.

Seeking a return to parliament for the first time in a decade, Anwar will run in a by-election on Aug 26 in a traditional opposition stronghold in northern Penang state.

Anwar, the former deputy premier, hopes it will be the first step towards ousting the ruling coalition which has led Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.