Malaysian PM opens election campaign

Malaysian premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi kicked off his election campaign Sunday, vowing to seize a two-thirds majority in polls dominated by ethnic tensions and anger over rising prices.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has ruled for half a century, bagged six of the 222 parliamentary seats on nomination day Sunday, after they went uncontested by the opposition.

Abdullah dismissed as a "marriage of convenience" a pact between the three opposition parties who will field just one candidate in each electorate on March 8, avoiding the three-cornered contests that have hurt them in the past.

"I want it to be a free, fair and democratic election. I want BN to win... with more than a two-thirds majority," he told reporters.

The premier formally submitted his nomination in the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat on the island state of Penang, surrounded by a sea of supporters from the ruling National Front or Barisan Nasional.

There was heavy security at the nomination centre, with police separating about 1,000 government supporters from about 500 activists from the Islamic party PAS who shouted the opposition battlecry of "Reformasi" or "Reform."

Keadilan, the opposition party of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, accused the coalition of dirty tricks, saying some Keadilan candidates went "missing" on nomination day, allowing the government uncontested victories.

The government holds 90 percent of seats in the outgoing parliament, and the opposition wants to cut that majority to below two-thirds for the first time, preventing the government from easily amending the constitution.

They are hoping voters will punish the government over spiralling prices of food and fuel, rising crime rates and friction between the majority Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians.

Anwar, who was sacked and jailed in 1998 on charges he said were politically motivated, is barred from standing for office until April but his parliamentarian wife said Sunday she would hand him her seat in a by-election.

His return to parliament would be a sensational event in Malaysian politics, and elevate Anwar's standing as de facto leader of the opposition.

Addressing one of the biggest voter gripes, Abdullah said the government could not afford to continue spending 40 billion ringgit (12.4 billion dollars) a year on fuel subsidies, but pledged to keep the cost of living low.

"The prices of oil has shot up. Even then we are trying our best to make sure it will not affect the people so much," he told reporters.

Abdullah, whose cabinet contains many veterans of the previous administration of Mahathir Mohamad, said his ministers were not assured of keeping their jobs in a new government after the March 8 polls.

Long-serving politicians who were expected to be ousted in the run-up to the polls have so far retained their positions.

"I have made no promises to anyone. I have a free hand (after the election)," he was quoted as saying in an interview with the New Straits Times.

"I did not promise anybody anything; whether a return to the cabinet or any other post," he added.

Abdullah swept to power in a 2004 landslide, but since then has gained a reputation for being weak and unable to carry out promised reforms like eradicating corruption -- at least partly due to his ageing cabinet line-up.

Figures like Samy Vellu, the only ethnic Indian minister in the multi-racial coalition, are standing again despite strong criticism over his handling of recent anti-discrimination protests by Indian activists.

Analysts said Abdullah's popularity, which has already plummeted, would be further damaged if he dashes hopes of rejuvenation in the coalition which has ruled Malaysia since independence a half century ago.

"If things remain as they are with the old guard being retained, then it will be problematic for the future of the party," said political analyst Tricia Yeoh from the Centre for Public Policy Studies.

"If he wants to talk about change he needs to show it rather than just speak about it," she said.

Agence France-Presse - 2/24/2008 11:32 AM