WASHINGTON (AP) — Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told The Associated Press on Friday he's confident of acquittal in his sodomy trial, so long as the Southeast Asian nation's top court demonstrates independence. A guilty verdict could weaken the opposition coalition he leads, but it could also create a wave of public anger against the government, which has been led by the same party for nearly six decades. Critics and human rights activists say the latest case, involving a male aide of Anwar's, is another salvo in a long-running campaign by the government to smear and silence its most potent threat. Prime Minister Najib Razak's party has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957 — a period of relative stability and prosperity in the moderate Muslim country. Anwar's opposition alliance won the popular vote in 2013 elections but didn't win enough seats to form a government.