Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will begin a week-long nationwide campaign on Tuesday to garner support ahead of a court verdict on his sodomy trial next Monday.

The 64-year-old is tried for allegedly sodomising his 26-year- old former assistant at a condominium unit in Kuala Lumpur in 2008.

Sodomy, consensual or not, is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court would deliver the verdict on Jan. 9 after the two-year trial. If convicted, Anwar will be jailed for 20 years. "These are trumped-up charges," Anwar said recently, alleging that the verdict conveniently comes close to the poll date to preclude him from running in the election.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was expected to call for snap polls this year before the parliament term ends in 2013.

Anwar said the sodomy charge was part of a political conspiracy to destroy him, a claim that Najib denied.

In the campaign, Anwar will tour nine states, three of which are opposition ruled, to give talks and convince electorates with a series of reforms by the opposition.

The campaign, dubbed "901", will start in Johor state, stronghold of the ruling coalition National Front, on Tuesday night and culminates on the day when Anwar's verdict is announced by the court.

"We are preparing for a scenario that he would be punished, which prevents him from running the election," Saifuddin Nasution, secretary general of Anwar's People's Justice Party told Xinhua.

"We will brief the public what the scenario will be and prepare the People Alliance's leaders on what to do with or without him," he said.

The opposition said that they would field some 100,000 supporters to demonstrate outside the court on that day, despite police warnings of stern actions against the rally.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan, political analyst from independent research firm IDEAS, said in an interview with Xinhua that Anwar could draw sympathy if he is convicted, which in turn would give the opposition an edge in the election. "After going through so much trouble, it is unlikely that the verdict will be not guilty. If the verdict is that he is found guilty, half of the country will not believe that he went through a fair trial," "If he's found not guilty, the prime minister will have an upper hand, because he can say the judiciary system is working well".

But he said Anwar's trial this time doesn't carry much impact in the coming election, unlike his trial in 1998, which influenced the public and led the opposition to an unprecedented victory in the 2008 election.

In 1998, Anwar was dismissed as a deputy prime minister and convicted for sodomy and corruption.

He was released in September 2004 and resumed his political career, leading the opposition parties to hold five states in Malaysia's 2008 election. "Most of them have been indifferent to the trial that is taking place, they have gone through all these traumatic experience in the first trial back in the late 1990's. This is a repeat of the same allegation against Anwar, the same trial but different proceeding,"he said.

"The opposition has been trying to hype up the fact that Anwar is on a trial. But if you go into the 2012 election, the real issues will be the economy, the increase in cost of living, the increase in the cost of daily goods and the bread and butter issues, the public is not so concerned about Anwar anymore," he added.

Wan Saiful said Awnar's campaign this week is crucial for him to set up the platform for his replacement to take after his agenda, but it also puts his popularity to the test.

"He has to campaign around the country, its good that he does it but let's see if the public responds well to that," Wan Saiful said.