Former Malacca chief minister Rahim Tamby Chik has alleged that ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was the cause of his downfall while he was at the height of his political career.

Rahim was alleged to have committed statutory rape in early 1995, with the scandal eventually leading to his resignation as Malacca chief minister and Umno Youth chief. He was cleared of any wrongdoing later.

In an exclusive interview with malaysiakini recently, he said the media coverage of this episode over "52 days" had damaged his reputation, as he was branded a criminal.

"At that point, unfortunately I had a problem with the deputy prime minister (Anwar), that pulled me down from chief minister and Umno Youth chief," he said.

Rahim was considered a rising star in Umno at the time and the blue-eyed boy of then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad - a position that perhaps was the cause of friction between him and Anwar.

"There was allegation that Anwar claimed I had defamed him in front of Dr Mahathir. He also alleged I was trying to poison Dr Mahathir's mind and that I had given a bad impression of him," he said.

'A tragedy'

Anwar was sacked from his government and political posts in 1998 and jailed for six years on corruption and sodomy charges, which he claimed were cooked up to prevent him challenging Mahathir for the premiership.

Rahim was firmly opposed to the idea of Anwar returning to Umno.

"My opinion is that if Anwar wants to return to Umno, it might create a tragedy because he was involved in a terrible episode while in the party.

"If he returns, there is a possibility that this will split the party again over whether or not to accept him - unless it can be proven that his presence will bring more strength and benefits to the party.

Rahim himself has made a comeback to politics and was re-elected into the Umno supreme council last September. He said he decided to return to active politics after his name was cleared.

However, he claimed that there were attempts to block his election. He lost to incumbent Amid Nordin in the Umno Kota Melaka divisional election, and attributed his defeat to refusal to pay for votes.

"In Malacca, there were some efforts to block me and they have been blocking all the way. They don't want to see me in the political race. But Umno members outside Malacca gave me support and helped me to win (the supreme council post)," he said.

Return to politics

Rahim described his success in winning a supreme council seat as "extraordinary", because he does not hold any government post.

On his political career, he said he has no intention to seek a higher post in the party, but was tightlipped about his plans for the next general election.

He denied knowledge of possibly being included in the cabinet line-up in a reshuffle, speculated to be carried out in October.

On public impressions that he is a 'womaniser', Rahim countered that he does not frequent places like discos and karaoke lounges.

"Womaniser, how? You never see me in the public, in the disco, in the karaoke lounge, nothing. Have you ever seen me (in these places)?" he asked.

Q&A:Treat me as an asset, not a threat, says Rahim