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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians voted Saturday in general elections
expected to hand the ruling coalition another victory but with a
reduced majority, as ethnic Chinese and Indians shift to the
opposition.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi won a
landslide victory in 2004 polls, but now faces public anger over
high inflation, rising crime rates and ethnic tensions in the
multicultural nation.
Asked when he cast his vote whether the Barisan
Nasional coalition, led by Malays who dominate the population, would
retain a critical two-thirds majority in parliament, he said only:
“Insya-Allah [God willing].”
Pollsters say the opposition, rallied by former
deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim who has stormed back onto the political
stage after being sacked and jailed in 1998, could double its
presence to 40 seats in the new 222-seat parliament.
But they say the three opposition parties, which
have formed a loose alliance, are unlikely to claim the 75 seats
they need to prevent the coalition from amending the constitution at
will.
Rights monitors and opposition leaders have
warned that the coalition, which has ruled for half a century, may
manipulate the vote in tightly fought seats, but Abdullah rejected
those allegations Saturday.
“Enough of that. They are just looking for
excuses in the event they do not win,” he said in his Kepala Batas
constituency in the island state of Penang, where he arrived dressed
in the blue of the Barisan Nasional.
Concerns over electoral fraud triggered a clash
between supporters of the Islamic party PAS and police in northern
Terengganu state, with authorities using tear gas to disperse some
300 people. There were 22 people arrested.
Police chief Musa Hassan said the incident
occurred after PAS supporters stopped several buses and cars, which
they suspected were ferrying in “phantom voters” for the
coalition.
When police intervened, the crowd pelted police
vehicles with rocks.
“The PAS supporters threw stones at police
vehicles, forcing the police to release tear gas to control the
situation,” he said.
Elsewhere in Penang, Anwar cast his vote at the
Permatang Pauh constituency held by his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
who formally heads their Keadilan party.
The charismatic 60-year-old is banned from
holding public office until April but plans to re-enter parliament
within months by contesting his wife’s seat in a by-election.
Anwar said he was convinced the opposition could
break the government’s two-thirds majority, but he was concerned
that electoral fraud could skew the result.
“We shall shake this government this time,”
he told reporters. “Now the Malays, Chinese and the Indians
support us. We should teach these cheaters a lesson.”
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