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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia's ruling coalition revved up campaigning yesterday for a special parliamentary election after political analysts warned that the opposition might win.
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| Mr Najib: The by-election will also test whether voters are impressed by this future PM's leadership |
The heated contest for the seat in north-eastern Terengganu state is widely perceived as a barometer of whether the ruling National Front coalition has regained significant support nearly a year after its worst electoral results ever in national polls.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is designated to take over the premiership by April, was slated to address two campaign rallies and meet business leaders in Terengganu yesterday, three days before a new legislator is elected for the state's capital.
'We cannot take the matter lightly because of the stiff competition, but if we are united and remain focused, God willing, we can win,' Mr Najib told reporters late on Tuesday.
About 80,000 people will be eligible to cast votes on Saturday for a new federal lawmaker in Kuala Terengganu city after the National Front's incumbent, who narrowly defeated an opposition candidate last year, died last November.
Political analyst Ong Kian Ming wrote on the Malaysiakini news website on Monday that, based on his analysis of electoral data, the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (also known as PAS) might wrest the seat by a majority of nearly 3,300 votes.
The independent Merdeka Centre research group, which polled more than 500 Terengganu voters last week, said on Tuesday that support for both sides appeared evenly split among Malay majority voters, but the ethnic Chinese minority showed 'a slight leaning in favour of the opposition'.
The National Front's popularity plunged last year amid growing complaints by Chinese and Indian minorities of racial discrimination. Many Malays also backed the opposition in the general election last March because of dissatisfaction with rising prices, corruption and crime.
The National Front is anxious to prevent a second consecutive electoral loss after former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim won a by-election last September to return to Parliament as opposition leader after a 10-year gap.
The Terengganu by-election will also test whether voters are impressed by the leadership of Mr Najib, who is spearheading the National Front's campaign less than three months before he is scheduled to take over from outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) threatened to leave the country's opposition coalition if the Islamic party in the alliance implements Muslim law in the event the group assumes power.
'The last thing we want to do is leave the People's Alliance, but if this happens, there is no choice for us,' said Karpal Singh, chairman of the DAP. 'It fundamentally opposes our stand that Malaysia is a secular state, not an Islamic one.'
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, part of a three-party People's Alliance led by Mr Anwar, wants Malaysia to be an Islamic state and has said it will implement Islamic laws, known as hudud, if they form the government. The government has highlighted the issue, accusing the opposition of being divided.
'PAS is quite clear that we will only do things based on consensus,' said Kamaruddin Jaafar, secretary-general of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. 'Whatever policies that are drawn up by the People's Alliance government will be joint policies, agreed upon by all.' - AP, Bloomberg
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