"Aziz said I was in charge of the political assassination part while he would take responsibility on the character assassination," Raja Kamaruddin Raja Wahid said.

Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, Mahathir's former political secretary, is now the deputy education minister. Defence lawyers have said they plan to call Mahathir next Thursday to testify.

Raja Kamaruddin, who was a branch leader in Mahathir's ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in 1998, told the court that the plan involved the political and character assassination of Anwar.

"Aziz directed me to come up with a plan to prevent Anwar from becoming prime minister and to ensure his supporters were toppled ...," he said.

Raja Kamaruddin said Aziz gave him the instructions at a meeting with three other people on June 26, 1998.

Anwar and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan are charged with sodomising the politician's official driver Azizan Abu Bakar at Sukma's apartment on "one night at about 7.45pm, between January and March, 1993."

Raja Kamaruddin said Aziz had told him to set up an office to carry out the plot and to claim back from him any expenses incurred.

Aziz also said that he had vetted and made changes to the letters in which the allegations of Anwar's sexual misconduct were first made, according to Raja's testimony.

The letters were initially written by Azizan and Ummi Halfida Mohamad Ali, the sister of Anwar's former political secretary.

"Aziz said these letters had been photostatted and distributed around the country through his agents to smear Anwar," he added. The letters alleged Anwar's sexual misconduct.

Mahathir sacked Anwar as deputy premier and finance minister on September 2, 1998. He was detained 18 days later after leading mass anti-government protests.

Anwar was jailed for six years last April for abusing his official powers to cover up allegations of sexual misconduct and could face another 20 years if convicted of sodomy.

Judge Ariffin Jaka asked Anwar's defence counsel to show the relevance of Raja Kamaruddin's testimony in respect to the sodomy charge.

"Political assassination is not the issue here ... is it relevant to the charge?" he asked defence lawyer Gurbachan Singh.

Gurbachan said Raja Kamaruddin's testimony was directly relevant to prove the fabrication of evidence related to the sodomy charges.

"This witness was himself one of the conspirators," he said.

Anwar has said he became the victim of a high-level political conspiracy after threatening to expose official corruption. The government denies any plot.

Earlier Justice Ariffin rejected a defence request to adjourn to Sukma's Tivoli Villa apartment, the site of the alleged sodomy incident.

Sukma has told the court he did not move into the apartment in Tivoli Villa in Bangsar, a Kuala Lumpur suburb, until April of the year when renovations were completed.

Rahimazlan Abdul Rahim, a partner of Sukma's in an interior decorating business, said renovations started at the end of December 1992 and lasted until March. No date was given.

Anwar, using a record of his ministerial engagements at the time, has testified that he could not have visited the apartment during the months of the alleged offence.

The trial which began last July continues Monday.