KUALA LUMPUR, July 16, 2008 (AFP) - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was arrested Wednesday over sodomy allegations, is likely to spend the night in detention, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said.

Syed Hamid dismissed Anwar's claims that the accusations levelled by a former aide were a government conspiracy, and discounted the prospect of mass demonstrations if the opposition leader is charged with sodomy.

'I doubt Anwar will be released tonight as this is a very serious allegation amd there are a lot of things to be investigated and the police must carry this out fully,' he told AFP.

'There is no conspiracy as Anwar likes to point out. Every time he is detained he claims it's a conspiracy, this is mind conditioning and we will make sure that no one is above the law.'

Anwar was sacked as deputy premier in 1998 and spent six years in prison on sodomy and corruption counts widely seen as politically motivated. The sex conviction was later overturned in the nation's highest court.