Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should apologise publicly to his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim if the Sodomy I allegation is untrue, PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Abdullah said.

Mohd Amar said this was necessary because the affair had implicated Anwar and his family back in 1998.

"If the accusations are truly false, in my opinion, Mahathir should publicly apologise.

"This thing (sodomy accusation) has disgraced Anwar and his family. It is not a small thing, it is already a national issue, a global one," Mohd Amar said in Kota Bharu, according to PAS mouthpiece Harakah Daily.

However, if the Sodomy I allegation was indeed true, Mohd Amar asked how Mahathir was now able to work with Anwar.

The publication also used the infamous "black eye" photo for the report. Anwar had received a bruised eye after being beaten by then inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Noor.

In September 1998, Mahathir claimed that Anwar was "morally unfit" to lead the country in the wake of sodomy allegations against the latter, which would later be known as the Sodomy I episode.

Mahathir then sacked Anwar as deputy prime minister. Anwar has maintained that he was a victim of a political conspiracy.

Anwar was eventually convicted of sodomising his former driver Azizan Abu Bakar. The conviction was overturned by the Federal Court in 2004.

At the time, Mahathir said he still believed that Anwar was guilty and that his conscience was clear.

Last month, Mahathir said that he does not regret Anwar's treatment in 1998 and that the former, as prime minister, was merely "responding to the situation at hand" and that the situation was different now.

Over the past two years, both Mahathir and Anwar appeared to have reconciled and were ready to bury the hatchet.

At one point, Mahathir even called for Anwar's release from prison. Anwar is currently in jail after being convicted of sodomising his aide Saiful Bukhairy Azlan in 2008.