Malaysia ruling and opposition camps plan poll strategyKUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (AFP) - Leaders of an opposition alliance, caught off guard like the rest of Malaysia by Wednesday's announcement of a snap election, were due to meet Thursday to plan a hoped-for political breakthrough.Parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said Alternative Front chiefs would meet to discuss the polls announced by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Mahathir, springing a surprise on virtually everyone, announced Wednesday that parliament would be dissolved Thursday with the election date to be set Friday by the Election Commission. "As the opposition we can only be as prepared as we can be," Lim, secretary general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), told AFP. "The Barisan Nasional (ruling National Front coalition) controls the three Ms -- money, the mass media and the machinery of government." State radio and TV has announced it will not carry party messages, only what it terms information about the government's work. Lim said the DAP faced a "grave shortage" of funds but nevertheless saw an "unprecedented opportunity" to break the decades-long dominance of the National Front. The DAP, the National Justice Party headed by the wife of jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, the Parti Islam SeMalaysia and the Malaysian People's Party have united to form the Alternative Front. It admits it has no hope of unseating the National Front, which holds 166 of the 192 parliamentary seats. But it aims to end the two-thirds parliamentary majority which the ruling coalition has enjoyed for three decades. Despite an improving economy, analysts say Mahathir, 73, faces his toughest challenge of recent years after the sacking and jailing of his charismatic deputy Anwar in September 1998. The move split the bedrock Malay constituency. Mahathir has staked his political reputation on retaining the two-thirds majority. On Wednesday he derided the opposition as the "Alternative Broken Front" and predicted infighting among its disparate parties. Lim said the alliance had completed negotiations on parliamentary seat allocations for peninsular Malaysia and state assembly seat allocations should be finalised in a day or two. He said November 27 or 28 were possible polling dates but called for a longer campaign period of at least three weeks. In the past three elections campaigning has lasted just 10 days. Lim said another 10-day period would be a second blow to Malaysians after the exclusion from this election of 650,000 new voters not due to come on the rolls till next year. The electors were registered in April but the Election Commission says it will not be able to verify the entries and include them on the electoral roll till next January at the earliest. Mahathir on Wednesday night he chaired a meeting of the ruling coalition's supreme council and said later he would meet leaders of its 14 parties to finalise a list of candidates. "We agree that we will contest as the Barisan Nasional; we will use BN banners, BN flags and the BN symbol," the New Straits Times quoted him as saying. "No other (party) symbol will be used." Khalil Yaakob, secretary-general of the main party the United Malays National Organisation, Wednesday joined Mahathir in predicting the National Front would keep its two-thirds majority. He said that in most constituencies, local issues would take precedence over Anwar's case and other topics. Election Commission chairman Omar Hashim, asked about Mahathir's stated desire for polls before the Muslim fasting month in December, said only that the commission would look for a "suitable date." The Malaysian Election Watch, a private watchdog, said the official commission had failed to address calls for measures to prevent poll fraud. It wants an end to postal voting for police and soldiers, fair opposition access to the media, safeguards against multiple voting and the inclusion of the 650,000 young voters in the upcoming election. |
