Lawyers for sacked deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim today painstakingly began building his defence of alibi to prove Anwar did not sodomise former driver, Azizan Abu Bakar.

Anwar, answering questions posed by lead defence counsel Christopher Fernando, gave laborious details about his whereabouts between February and March 1993, the crucial time when he is alleged to have had forced sex on Azizan. Detailed breakdown of his public engagements, both local and overseas, were furnished in court to show that the alleged act could not have taken place on certain days.

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

"We are adducing this alibi evidence to prove that Anwar could not have sodomised Azizan at the mentioned time frame because he was not even in the country. Furthermore, we are also showing that Azizan could not have been present because these are public functions in which Anwar attended in his capacity as the deputy prime minister and finance minister," Fernando said.

Although the charges against Anwar stated that he sodomised Azizan on one day at 7.45pm over a three-month period in early 1993, the defence of alibi focused on between February and March as the bed, where the sex act is alleged to have taken place, was only delivered to Tivoli Villa on Feb 11 in that year.

The Tivoli Villa was then a newly completed apartment block and Sukma was in the process of moving in. The original sodomy charge was earlier amended when it was found that the date of the alleged sodomy mentioned by Azizan was before the apartment was built.

Names of those present at the functions attended by the one-time heir apparent was painstakingly adduced to "give further credibility" to the alibi evidence. Anwar even whipped out a photograph of him with Mickey Mouse, to the amusement of Judge Arifin Jaka, to prove that he attended the Children's Walt Disney on Ice show at the Stadium Negara on a certain night during the period the alleged sodomy took place.

Anwar's lawyers also ruled out Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from their defence of alibi as Azizan, in his evidence during the prosecution's case, had stated that the day prior to the day he was sodomised was not a working day.

"As such, this means the alleged act could not have happened on a Monday," Fernando told Arifin.

In addition, Azizan told the court that he was not sodomised on Friday as he could not recall performing his Friday prayers that day. Azizan, whose main duties were to drive Anwar's wife Azizah Ismail and his children, also did not work on weekends.

"We have adduced enough evidence in court to defend our case," Fernando told malaysiakini .

Meanwhile, Anwar's family members and the public were jolted from their seats when Fernando engaged in a war of words with Arifin at the start of today's trial. The judge accused Fernando of trying to tell him what to do when the counsel urged Ariffin to note down certain parts of Anwar's evidence.

"Who are you to tell me what to do? Don't provoke me," Arifin said, raising his voice. Fernando, visibly upset, reminded the judge that he was merely trying to assist the court and repeatedly told Ariffin to "cool down".

Among those in court this morning was KeADILan deputy president Chandra Muzaffar. The trial, which ended at noon, is postponed to next Wednesday since some members of the prosecution team have to attend a meeting.

Anwar stands trial for sodomy and sexual misconduct and is currently serving a six-year jail term for corruption. The jailed leader, who was sacked by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, maintains his innocence, and says the charges are politically motivated to end his blooming political career.