By Julia Zappei

A.P. writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—A Malaysian judge on July 4 rejected opposition politician Anwar Ibrahim's bid to take former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to court for accusing him of being a homosexual.

The ruling curtails a legal showdown that could have eventually brought the two foes face-to-face for the first time since Mahathir fired his then-deputy from the government in 1998 on suspicions of corruption and sodomy.

Anwar filed a lawsuit against Mahathir in January 2006 after Mahathir refused to apologize and pay him $28.5 million for publicly stating that Anwar's alleged sexual orientation made him unfit for office.

Last week Judge Tengku Maimon Tuan Mat said Anwar's suit was "unsustainable" because the High Court in 1999 dismissed a similar suit that Anwar filed against Mahathir.

Anwar was Mahathir's deputy for five years until their friendship cracked in 1998 amid policy disputes during the Asian financial crisis. Mahathir fired Anwar in September that year, accusing him of being gay.

Anwar was subsequently arrested, tried and convicted of corruption and sodomy, and sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison.

Anwar was freed in 2004 when Malaysia's highest court overturned the sodomy conviction.

Mahathir, who retired in 2003 after 22 years in power, later insisted he was "under a clear and compelling social (and) moral duty" to explain why he fired Anwar, stressing that "it was unacceptable to have a homosexual in his Cabinet."

Anwar, who is now the official adviser to the opposition People's Justice Party, responded that if Mahathir "believes that he is justified in saying that, he must have the moral courage to face me in court."

Anwar's lawyer, Sankara Nair, said he would file an appeal, adding that Anwar's suit should be heard because the circumstances have changed due to the elimination of his sodomy conviction in 2004.

Nair said Anwar was "indeed quite upset," when he phoned to tell him about the judge's decision. "The only way to know the truth is through a trial."