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KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA dissolved Parliament yesterday, paving the way for elections at a time when frayed racial ties could reduce the ruling coalition's majority.
The Election Commission will meet today to set the dates for nomination and polling, with March 1 or 8 probable.
Confirming the country's worst-kept secret, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said live on national television that the 11th Parliament had been dissolved, with the King's consent.
The announcement put an end to months of speculation. Although an election is not due until next year, it was called early as Malaysia's economy heads into uncertain times.
The election is seen as a report card on the administration of PM Abdullah and his ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) after he swept the 2004 election with a thumping 90 per cent victory on promises to fight corruption and even out development.
'I pray that BN will get at least two-thirds of the votes in the upcoming election,' PM Abdullah said in the announcement yesterday. 'I hope voters will understand the issues affecting our country objectively.'
The BN holds 199 of the 219 seats, the opposition Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) has 12; Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) six, and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has just a single seat. The last seat is held by an independent.
The PKR is led by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. Although a ban from his corruption conviction does not expire until April and will keep him out of the race, his wife Wan Azizah Ismail will run.
Datuk Seri Anwar has said that if she wins, she will step down to force a by-election.
Apart from the federal parliament, 12 of the 13 state assemblies will be dissolved.
The Sarawak state assembly will not be disbanded as it held its state elections in May 2006.
There are 222 Parliament seats up for grabs, slightly more than the 219 in 2004, and 505 seats in the 12 state assemblies will be contested.
About 10.5 million people are eligible to vote, although it is not compulsory in Malaysia.
A repeat of PM Abdullah's landslide victory of 2004 is unlikely but the BN is expected to retain its two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The key states include Kelantan. Held by the PAS since 1990, it managed to hold the state by a hair's breadth in 2004, and now has a one-seat majority there.
Neighbouring Terengganu is unlikely to fall again. PAS won it in 1999 at the height of the anger over the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar, but lost it to the BN in 2004 by a large margin.
With the recent strain in race relations, analysts expect seats with Chinese or Indian majorities to be tough fights. Many are on Penang island which the DAP has been eyeing. Right now, it only has one state seat and four Parliamentary seats.
Widespread speculation is that new faces will include Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, son-in-law of PM Abdullah, and Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
There was no word on which candidates would be dropped but the jockeying to retain or obtain seats is intense.
Meanwhile, election preparations are well under way with party flags up, and potential candidates already working the ground.
PM Abdullah said that the government had dissolved parliament 15 months before its mandate ended as it wanted a new mandate to continue its development programmes.
He said the BN has had a good record of running the country.
But with issues like race relations, inflation and crime in the news, the opposition hopes to capitalise on underlying dissatisfaction with PM Abdullah's four-year rule.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said: 'We need to reduce the BN's dominance, and to let the country take a new direction. The country can do much better.'
carolynh@sph.com.sg
kumhor@sph.com.sg
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