Thousands of Malaysians staged a rally against inflation, but the turnout was prompted just as much by bitter political bickering that has upset many in the Southeast Asian nation.

The day-long event was capped by a fiery address by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim before a crowd of 15,000, calling for a debate with Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his deputy, Najib Abdul Razak, over the government’s decision to raise fuel prices by 41 per cent last month, The Straits Times said.

Ensuring that the issue before Malaysians was also about him, Anwar said: "Believe me, that which was alleged 10 years ago is now repeated with malice and slander, and I will not accept but fight it to the end."

He was referring to a fresh allegation recently that he had sodomized his personal assistant. He maintained that the same charge 10 years ago and now are a conspiracy aimed at quashing his political ambitions.

Anwar has claimed that his opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat will take over the government soon, with defections from the ruling coalition by Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers.

"I vow that we will fight and struggle until (the opposition) Pakatan becomes the next government of Malaysia," he said this week.

Cries of ‘Reformasi’, ‘Hidup Rakyat’ (long live the people) and ‘Makkal Sakti’ (people power) were heard during speeches by Anwar and other opposition leaders.

Despite fears of a crackdown over the protest, security was light.

"Our aim is not to cause trouble but to get the message to the government that fuel prices must come down and we will not stop our protests until this happens," said Hatta Ramli, organizer of the Coalition Against Inflation and Islamist opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia.

The protests will get worse "until the government listens to the voice of the people to ease their burden and suffering".

The fuel price hike on June 5 caused anger among Malaysians already struggling with higher prices of food and goods.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi told Bernama he was perturbed by the protest.

"I also know that the people are becoming fed up with the political manoeuvres taking place currently," he said, referring to the trading of accusations between Anwar and Najib over the past week.

Anwar’s camp has accused Najib of being behind the sodomy accusations. It also suggested Najib had a sexual relationship with a murdered Mongolian model.

So far, Anwar seems to have emerged from the bickering stronger, with a poll showing that many believe him to be a victim of a political conspiracy.