Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim is seeking an apology and a RM100 million compensation from state-owned TV station RTM for two programmes which he claimed had defamed him.

The letter of demand released today by Anwar's lawyer Sankara N Nair named the director-general of Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), Information Minister Khalil Yaacob and the government of Malaysia as being responsible for slandering Anwar.

According to Sankara, RTM 1 on Sept 4 said Anwar had called former Inspector-General of Police Abdul Rahim Noor 'bapak anjing' (father of dogs) and 'anjing' (dog) before he was beaten.

"Nowhere in the trial of Rahim was there evidence that he assaulted Anwar as a result of him being called 'bapak anjing' and 'anjing'; as such, the statement in the first programme is false, baseless, frivolous and defamatory," Sankara said.

"It is despicable for RTM to be used in such a way by certain powers that be to aid and abet in the attempt to exonerate a convicted criminal such as Rahim, and to further attempt to rationalise and justify his criminal act," Sankara said.

Rahim was sentenced to two months jail and fined RM2,000 last year when the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court found him guilty of assaulting Anwar during his detention under the Internal Security Act in 1998.

Anwar is currently serving a 15-year jail sentence in the Sungai Buloh prison for sodomy and corrupt practices. He maintains that the charges were part of a political conspiracy to destroy him.

'Wanton misinformation'

Sankara also said that another programme on TV1, which was broadcasted a day later, had accused Anwar of being an 'Islamic extremist'.

"[The parties named] have made such allegations without merit and foundation and deliberately with a definite intent to defame Anwar's good name and reputation," Sankara said.

Sankara added that Khalil, RTM's director-general and the government had abused the government-owned media.

"It is deplorable for the government's official organ, RTM 1, to be misused to mount a political offensive against our client - a wanton dissemination of wanton misinformation to the public," he said.

According to Sankara, the letters have been served to the three parties at 12.30pm today.

He gave them a 48-hour ultimatum, saying that if the conditions were not met, legal action would be initiated.