The testimony on the third day of Anwar's trial came from Mohamad Said Awang, special branch director until September when Anwar was arrested.

Security remained tight around the courthouse as Anwar arrived Wednesday morning. Dozens of riot police and paramilitary forces armed with automatic weapons patrol led the area in a heavy tropical downpour as the session began.

All foreign observers who queued for seats in the public gallery managed to get into the courtoom including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Justice International and diplomats from Britain, Canada and Germany.

In a move which drew international criticism, Judge Augustine Paul ruled at the outset of the trial Monday that observers would not be given special status.

Several local observers also got seats Wednesday,and at least three members of the general public who were seen entering the court for the first time.

Said, the first witness for the prosecution, testified Wednesday that the Anwar sex letter was sent to police chief Abdul Rahim Noor last year by Megat Junid, then deputy home minister under Mahathir who is also home minister. Megat Junid, who is now minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs allegedly obtained the letter from his wife.

Prosecutors have alleged that the letter was written by Ummi Hafilda Ali, the sister of Anwar's private secretary at the time, and addressed to Mahathir.

Another statement on Anwar's alleged sexual misconduct came from Azizan Abu Bakar, who was the deputy prime minister's driver at the time. Said said he informed Anwar of Megat Junid's role in the affair at a meeting on August 13 last year.

At an earlier meeting, Anwar urged Said and other police officers ``to find Ummi and Azizan quickly to surprise them and put a little fear into them'', the former specialbranch director said.

``The accused talked to me about Ummi, her problems with her family and the family's problems,'' Said told the court.

During Tuesday's proceedings, the prosecution alleged that Anwar used police to make Ummi and Azizan retract their statements on Anwar.

``The accused used his position of deputy Prime minister and Finance minister for his own personal interest,'' an opening statement alleged.

Anwar ``took various actions to deny the contents'' of the letters and gave ``specific directives'' to Said and his deputy. ``As a result of the directives by the accused, the special branch obtained letters of denial,'' the statement said.

Said also told the court that police probes into Anwar's sex life went back as Far as 1992 and that he was informed about this while being briefed about Ummi's letter on August 10 last year.

The trial continues.

Meanwhile, the head of Malaysian's Islamic party and other members of a broad coalition of opposition groups were turned away from thehearing due to lack of space on Wednesday.

But the coalition members, led by Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS) President Fazdil Noor, vowed to return. ``We will try to follow proceedings later to ensure that Justice is done for everyone,'' Fadzil told reporters.

The PAS president arrived after the court proceedings began and was accompanied by Mahfuz Omar, the head of the party's youth wing who also serves as secretary of the Malaysian People's Justice Movement (Gerak).

Gerak, comprising three opposition parties and a dozen non-government organisations, was launched at a huge rally attended by an estimated 100,000 supporters on September 27, a week after Anwar was arrested.

Anwar, dismissed by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on September 2, is on trial for four corruption charges. He also faces another corruption charge and five sodomy charges, carrying penalties of up to 20 years in prison, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.