KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S prime minister designate has ordered his ruling coalition to launch its comeback from grievous losses in March national polls by winning a special parliamentary election next month.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said late on Saturday that a victory for the National Front coalition in the Jan 17 by-election would 'give a clear signal to the country and the world' that the coalition retains the support of most Malaysians.

About 80,000 voters will be eligible to cast ballots for a new federal legislator in the eastern constituency of Kuala Terengganu following the death of the incumbent last month.

Mr Najib, who is slated to succeed leader Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by April, called the by-election 'a starting point' to reinvigorate the National Front, which now has less than a two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time since 1969.

A National Front lawmaker won the Kuala Terengganu seat in March general elections, defeating a rival from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's three-party coalition by a slim 628-vote majority.

Mr Najib is expected to spearhead campaigning for the by-election. A loss would be a blow to his credibility ahead of his rise to the premiership.

Mr Abdullah, whose popularity plummeted after the March election losses, recently pledged to retire and let Najib take over to tackle challenges such as the rising cost of living, corruption and racial disputes.

Next month's by-election will be the first after Anwar won a landslide victory in August to regain his former seat in northern Malaysia following a nearly 10-year absence from Parliament.

The result will not change the National Front's control of Parliament, where it has 138 seats in the 222-member lower house, its weakest representation in 51 years of rule. -- AP