Malaysian compaign hots up in ad row
Malaysian compaign hots up in ad row
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia opened a hotly contested election campaign on Sunday with the opposition leader accusing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's coalition of illegally whipping up fear to intimidate voters.
Lim Kit Siang, secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), said he had lodged a complaint with police against full-page advertisements in several newspapers which he called "inflammatory and irresponsible".
He said the DAP had decided to lodge more reports with police accusing Mahathir's Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition of placing advertisements which constituted criminal defamation and sedition.
"The Barisan Nasional advertisements are suggesting that the DAP leaders are mobsters, advocate violence and want anarchy, and these are highly seditious as well as criminal defamation, which are criminal offenses," he said in a statement.
Barisan Nasional officials could not be reached for comment. The advertisements, published on the first day of official campaigning for the Nov. 29 polls, urged voters to support the BN for peace and stability, key themes for the ruling alliance.
Full-page BN advertisements in several English and Chinese- language newspapers depicted anti-government demonstrations by supporters of jailed former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Next to captions reading Don't Let Anarchy Rule, Don't Let Violence Triumph and Don't Let Hatred Win were photographs of a protester kicking a car, a trash bin on fire during a demonstration and protesters throwing stones at police.
Anwar's sacking in 1998 and subsequent jailing ignited unprecedented unrest. Anwar says he was the victim of a government conspiracy, and Mahathir has accused Anwar of trying to topple the government with riots.
Anwar, who is serving a six-year jail term for corruption, was the opposition's joint candidate to become prime minister until he decided not to stand.
Mahathir's 14-party, multi-ethnic coalition faces mostly one- on-one contests against an opposition bent on denying it a two- thirds majority for the first time in three decades.
The four-party opposition, emboldened by Anwar's imprisonment, has closed ranks for the first time to try to trim the prime minister's four-fifths majority in parliament.
Mahathir spent the first day of the official campaign in his home state of Kedah, denouncing Anwar and the Islamic fundamentalist Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) and campaigning in the constituency of PAS president Fadzil Noor.
"We have seen when he (Anwar) became deputy prime minister, he asked the police to scare his opponents, asked police to arrest them," Mahathir said, referring to Anwar's corruption conviction which found he had abused his power over police.
"If he becomes PM, I'm not sure how many people who oppose him will be arrested," Mahathir said.
About 500 opposition supporters attended a rain-drenched rally on the outskirts of the capital, shouting Allahu akbar (God is greatest) and reformasi (reform), the anti-government slogan of Anwar's followers.
Speakers accused the Barisan Nasional of using the government and official media to its electoral advantage, and pledged support for Anwar even though he is not running.
"We will go all out to win this election for our new prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim," PAS candidate Hatta Ismail said. "He may not be with us physically, but spiritually he is our guide."