HONG KONG -- Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has unexpectedly taken a meaningful stride away from the authoritarian rule of former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad. As a result, the charismatic former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will now be free to influence the course of Malaysian politics, though he will not be free to hold formal political office until April 2008.

Anwar was sentenced to six years in prison in April 1999 for corruption, and to nine years in prison in August 2000 for sodomy. Many regarded these as trumped-up charges, indicating, more than anything else, that Mahathir could not tolerate a powerful rival and kept the Malaysian judiciary under his thumb. Consequently, until now, Anwar's numerous appeals against his convictions were all rejected. He had already completed his sentence for corruption, six years with time off for good behavior in April 2003, and was now serving his 9-year sentence for sodomy. On Sept. 2, his final appeal against the sodomy charge was due to be heard by Malaysia's Federal Court. Anwar feared that this appeal would also be rejected.

But on Sept. 2, six years to the day since Mahathir dismissed Anwar as deputy prime minister, one Federal Court judge stated that the original conviction of Anwar was flawed because the chief prosecution witness had repeatedly changed the dates on which he claimed that Anwar had committed homosexual acts with him. Another judge announced that the panel of three judges, in a 2 to 1 ruling, had overturned Anwar's conviction for sodomy and he was therefore free and would not have to serve the remaining four years of that sodomy sentence.