Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's government cleared the police chief and attorney general yesterday of accusations that they conspired against opposition leader Anwar Ebrahim ahead of trials that led to his imprisonment a decade ago.

The decision dashes Anwar's bid to bolster his claim that he was framed on charges of corruption and sodomy in a high-level political plot following his ouster as deputy prime minister in 1998.

Anwar's accusation against the two officials, made last July, was also considered an attempt to cast doubt on the credibility of authorities after he faced a new charge of sodomy last year. Anwar is scheduled to go on trial in July on a charge of sodomising a male former aide.

Nazri Aziz, the minister in charge of legal affairs, said an independent panel of ex-judges found no basis to Anwar's claim that Inspector General of Police Mousa Hassan and Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail fabricated medical evidence while Anwar was in police custody in 1998.

Anwar claims the sodomy charge is meant to stem the opposition's threat to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is being forced to step down.