Malaysian government routed conservative opposition in elections on Sunday, winning an overwhelming mandate for its secular rule in one of the world's most developed Muslim states.
The victory was a triumph for new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who promised "modern and progressive" Islamic governance when he took over from veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad last October. "I am grateful to Allah because the National Front has been blessed with a huge victory in this election," he told a victory party.
In the first vote since the so-called war on terrorism was launched after the September 11 attacks in the US, Abdullah's National Front coalition bucked the trend in Muslim states and rolled back gains the Islamists made in the last elections in 1999.
While results remained unofficial, leaders of the Islamic Party (PAS), conceded defeat in one of two state governments they controlled, and Abdullah appeared headed for a landslide win nationally.
The result will be welcomed in the West, which had prickly relations with Mahathir even as he transformed Malaysia in two decades from a rubber and tin exporter to one of the world's top 20 trading nations with a high-tech manufacturing base.
With ethnic Chinese and Indian voters afraid of PAS's Islamic policies holding the balance of power, Abdullah was always assured of victory nationally, but the extent of his win beat even his own expectations. PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang conceded defeat, saying: "We accept the results of the elections and will keep fighting in the name of Islam."
The vote is a huge blow to the party, which wanted to impose a theocratic state in Malaysia complete with Islamic laws prescribing stoning to death and amputations and believed it was riding on a wave of resurgent Islam.
More than 90 alleged Islamic militants are held without trial in Malaysia, many of them accused of membership in regional groups linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network blamed for the attacks on the United States.