Defence counsel Sulaiman Abdullah told reporters outside the capital's high court that Anwar's lawyers would ask judge Augustine Paul to disqualify Azizan Abu Bakar, Anwar's former driver, as a witness in the corruption and sex trial.

It would be the boldest move yet by the defence, which argues that Azizan Is part of a broad-based plot by associates of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to destroy Anwar's political dreams so he would never succeed the veteran ruler.

Azizan, who worked for Anwar's family from 1989 to 1992, alleged in August 1997 that the former cabinet minister had repeatedly sodomised him in 1992. The accusation is critical to Anwar's trial and at the heart of civil unrest in Malaysia.

Yesterday, the former driver appeared to contradict theallegation when he agreed with a defence lawyer that he had visited the Anwar family for five years until 1997 because he had not been sodomised.

``We will try and prove that he has been making contradictory statements, that what he testified in court is different from what he has said in his sworn statement and all that,'' Sulaiman said.

Defence counsel Gurbachan Singh told reporters that during the afternoon session the defence would try to persuade the judge to impeach Azizan as a witness.

``Impeachment is to discredit the witness, that he's lying. And if he's impeached, then the whole of his evidence goes,'' Gurbachan said.

But it was not clear whether the judge would agree to disqualify Azizan.

Gurbachan indicated that Augustine, a newcomer on the high court bench, had expressed doubts about the defence team's proposed move.

``He felt we can't do it,'' Gurbachan said. ``We feel we can, so I said we defer it until after noon.''

Azizan's testimony yesterday stirred jubilation among Anwar'ssupporters, who thought he had retracted his allegations and greatly enhanced the former cabinet minister's case.

But the prosecution said Azizan was confused by questions put by the defence and thought they related to events after the alleged sodomy took place in 1992.

Still, a senior lawyer with no ties to the trial said mere confusion over Azizan's stance could end up helping Anwar.

``At the end of the day, the court has to give the benefit of doubt to the accused,'' R R Chelvarajah, an attorney in the western city of Malacca and vice president of the Malaysian Bar Council, told Reuters.