Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is seeking to bar the public and media from court proceedings in a sexual assault lawsuit filed by his former aide, a request that has drawn scrutiny given his decades-long advocacy against what he called politically-motivated prosecutions.

Yusoff Rawther, Anwar's former research assistant, filed the civil suit alleging an incident on October 2, 2018 at the Prime Minister's Bukit Segambut residence. According to Malaysian Now, Anwar is now requesting remote or in-camera proceedings, arguing that his appearance "will inevitably attract intense public and media attention."

The Prime Minister contests key claims in the suit, including that his private secretary instructed Yusoff to deliver a speech, that bodyguard Norafee Ahmad accompanied the aide, and that any meeting occurred during the alleged 2-4 PM timeframe. Anwar maintains his daughter was with him during that period.

The request comes after Malaysia's Court of Appeal ordered Anwar to pay RM50,000 in costs for multiple trial delays. Yusoff's lawyer cited four lawyer changes by the Prime Minister since the suit was filed in 2021.

Anwar previously spent years challenging sodomy convictions he claimed were fabricated to end his political career, becoming a symbol of judicial reform in Malaysia. The irony of now seeking closed proceedings has not been lost on observers of the country's legal system.

Case management is scheduled for April 8. Anwar argues that resolving preliminary questions could eliminate the need for a full trial—questions he says require only "straightforward and simple confirmation of facts."