Mahathir chases votes in Sabah

Mahathir chases votes in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters): Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad criss-crossed the remote eastern state of Sabah
on Thursday in an 11th-hour bid to win his first electoral test
since sacking his former deputy.

Mahathir traveled more than 400 kilometers by helicopter north
of Sabah's capital, Kota Kinabalu, to meet voters. But he had to
cancel a similar journey to the east due to bad weather.

Mahathir, who initially predicted a "landslide victory" in the
polls, told reporters before returning to the federal capital,
Kuala Lumpur, that his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition was
confident of winning at least a simple majority to rule Sabah for
a second term of five years.

The BN, with 43 of 48 seats in the outgoing assembly, has been
accused of dirty electoral tactics, including abusing government
funds for campaign purposes and intimidation of pro-opposition
voters.