By Jalil Hamid
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia's premier calledon Wednesday for fresh elections he is certain to win, andkicked off a campaign likely to be dominated by racial issuesas religious tension rises in the southeast Asian nation.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters he hadreceived consent from the country's king to dissolveparliament, effective Wednesday, and call for fresh elections.
"The king has signed the declaration of dissolution ofparliament today," Abdullah told a news conference at hisimposing green-domed office in Malaysia's administrativecapital.
"We hope to get a big majority, at least two thirds, Godwilling."
The country's election authorities would decide thenomination and polling dates, he added.
Analysts expect Abdullah's ruling coalition, the BarisanNasional, to win, although with a reduced majority. The vote iscrucial for the opposition, with the future of its de factoleader, Anwar Ibrahim, at stake.
"I don't think Barisan Nasional will be able to repeat its2004 victory," political analyst Chandra Muzaffar told Reuters."As we get closer to election day, Barisan Nasional, because ofits very powerful machinery, would be able to ensure a very,very comfortable victory."
Earlier, a source close to Abdullah told Reuters theElection Commission would decide on the poll date in the comingdays, but it was likely to be held within the first 10 days ofMarch.
The Election Commission has called a news conference forThursday, an official said, but gave no details.
After months of feverish poll speculation, markets took thenews in stride, with the benchmark index up less than onepercent at 1,428.13 points in the afternoon session.
BEFORE THINGS GET WORSE
Polls had not been due until May 16, 2009, and Abdullahgave no reason for calling an early election, but analysts hadexpected him to seek a fresh mandate before the trade-dependenteconomy begins to slow and inflation picks up steam.
"They want to get over with the elections before things getworse," said political analyst Ooi Kee Beng, of the Instituteof Southeast Asian Studies in neighbouring Singapore.
A March election would also cut out opposition leaderAnwar, who is barred from standing for public office untilApril because of his past criminal conviction, though Abdullahdenies this influenced the timing of the poll.
Opposition parties complain that the electorate isgerrymandered in favour of mainly rural Malays, that thepro-government media gives themhort shrfit and campaigningrules favour the incumbents.
"We, the opposition, almost have to fight this out in thedark," Nasharuddin Mat Isa, deputy president of the hardlineIslamist Parti Islam se-Malaysia, told Reuters.
"This is going to be tough for us, as it's an unevenplaying field and when the government has all the advantage interms of money and resources."
Abdullah saw the king at 9 a.m. (1 a.m. British time) toget his consent to dissolve parliament, the source close to thepremier said.
In power since 2003, Abdullah is trying to shore up his ownpopularity, which has been dented by public anger over risingprices, street crime and an influx of cheap foreign labour.
Abdullah, who took over from Mahathir Mohamad, led hisruling coalition to a record victory in 2004 elections on apledge to clean up government.
But he said recently the coalition, which has ruled sinceindependence in 1957, was unlikely to repeat its 2004performance amid growing unease among ethnic Chinese and Indianminorities.
"He knows that he will not be able to resolve inter-ethnicproblems in the country and that waiting longer would onlycause sentiments to slide away from the coalition evenfurther," Tian Chua, spokesman for Anwar's Keadilan party, toldReuters.
After months of feverish poll speculation, markets took thenews in stride, with the benchmark index up less than onepercent at 1,428.13 points in the afternoon session.
(Reporting by Mark Bendeich, Jalil Hamid, Niki Koswanage,Liau Y-Sing and Jahabar Sadiq; Writing by Clarence Fernandez;Editing by Bill Tarrant)
