JAKARTA - INDONESIAN President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's corruption-fighting credentials were on the line on Wednesday after his son was embroiled in vote-buying allegations on the eve of elections.

Vote-buying, or 'money politics' as it is euphemistically known here, is rampant in the world's third-largest democracy as it heads to the polls for general elections on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR - THE defeat of Malaysia's ruling coalition in two by-elections signals a clear rejection of new Prime Minister Najib Razak, the opposition said on Wednesday, voicing concern he will resort to repression to cement his power.

The ruling coalition brushed off the losses, saying Mr Najib needs more time to make an impression.

PHNOM PENH - THE Khmer Rouge regime's prisons chief told Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court Wednesday how he recruited young peasants to be turned into torturers and killers.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, last week apologised at his trial for crimes against humanity, accepting blame for the extermination of 15,000 people who passed through the regime's main prison, Tuol Sleng.