KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's prime minister waded into battle for political control of the Muslim heartland on Saturday, staging a rally of about 20,000 supporters at the site of a recent, bloody anti-government protest.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi used the rally toattack the opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia, an Islamistparty that poses one of his biggest challenges as he seeks toretain an overwhelming parliamentary majority at polls on March8.
"Islam is a religion of development," Abdullah told therally in northeastern Terengganu state, at the same spot wherein September police shot and wounded two protesters as theytried to break up a PAS-backed demonstration.
He portrayed PAS as anti-development and promised that hismulti-racial coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), would do more toadvance the economy of the oil-rich state, which was controlledby PAS for four years until the coalition won it back in 2004.
"I believe the people of Terengganu want more developmentin the state. The BN will push for further development in thenext five years," he said at the open-air rally in a publicpark.
BN has governed at the national level since independencefrom Britain in 1957, but it fails to dominate in Terengganuand trails PAS in neighbouring Kelantan state, which theIslamists have ruled at the state-assembly level for 18 years.
"Why doesn't PAS want development?" Abdullah said.
He criticised PAS's practice of issuing Islamic decrees, orfatwahs. In the past, the party has even decreed that itssupporters would go to heaven if they voted for PAS.
"It's not beneficial for our people or our country. Theyare just jealous of us. They have limited capability."
The Barisan Nasional government is considered certain to bere-elected, but with a reduced majority because of populardiscontent over rising prices, racial tensions and streetcrime.
A large protest vote could undermine Abdullah's leadershipand also influence the future shape of social and economicpolicy over the next five years.
(Reporting by Jalil Hamid, writing by Mark Bendeich;Editing by Bill Tarrant)
