Malaysia's premier called on Wednesday for fresh elections that he is certain to win, kicking off a campaign likely to be overshadowed by racial issues and religious tension in the south-east Asian nation.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he had received consent from the country's king to dissolve parliament, effective Wednesday, and call fresh elections.
"We hope to get a big majority, at least two thirds, God willing," Abdullah told a news conference at his imposing green-domed office in Malaysia's administrative capital. While the outcome of the election is a foregone conclusion, the timing could be a gamble due to rising racial and religious tensions and a popular anger over inflation.
Polls had not been due until May 16, 2009, and Abdullah gave no reason for calling them early, but analysts had expected him to seek a fresh mandate before the economy begins to slow and inflation picks up steam.
"They want to get over with the elections before things get worse," said Ooi Kee Beng, analyst at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. An opposition leader said it could be an uphill task to deny Abdullah's ruling coalition a two-thirds parliamentary majority, the threshold required for amending the constitution.
"It's going to be tough," said Lim Guan Eng, leader of the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party. "For us, even winning one seat is going to be a Herculean task." "As we get closer to election day, Barisan Nasional, because of its very powerful machinery, would be able to ensure a very, very comfortable victory," political analyst Chandra Muzaffar told Reuters, although he expected that majority to be smaller than in 2004.
While authorities will only announce the poll date on Thursday, insiders suggest it will be held in the first 10 days of March in order to exclude opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is barred from standing for public office until April because of a past criminal record. "It is going to be a major, major battle ahead," Anwar told reporters in Hong Kong, but he remained upbeat.