PAS wins by-election, UMNO takes lead in another
PAS wins by-election, UMNO takes lead in another
Agencies Pendang, Malaysia
Malaysia's Islamic opposition beat Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling alliance in a by-election for an assembly seat on Thursday and built an early lead in counting for a parliamentary seat in the veteran leader's home state. But Mahathir's ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) made up ground and pulled more than 200 votes ahead.
Malaysian voters turned out in force in ballots where Mahathir is trying to roll back an Islamic tide that snatched away votes three years ago in favor of opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), which dreams of turning multi-cultural Malaysia into an Islamic state.
The by-elections in the rural state of Kedah, near the Thai border, are for parliamentary and provincial assembly seats held by Fadzil Noor, who led PAS until his death last month.
A televised announcement from the Kedah state capital Alor Setar said PAS held the Anak Bukit seat in the Kedah state assembly with a 508-vote majority.
Shouts of "Allahu Akbar", or "God is Greatest", were heard from jubilant PAS supporters as an election commission official read the result.
"We congratulate PAS," said Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who will succeed Mahathir when he retires next year after leading the country for 22 years.
"This is after all their fort, the stronghold of their (PAS) president himself. At least, we have been able to narrow their majority and make inroads into areas we have not been able to do before," said Abdullah.
The defeat in Kedah will hurt Mahathir because it is his home state. During the election campaign, he was depicted by PAS posters wearing a catholic priest's robes.
The PAS members demanded and officials granted a recount for the parliamentary seat. There was no indication how long it could take.
Both results confirmed, though, that the Islamists have lost support since 1999, when they capitalized on anger over the firing and jailing of Mahathir's deputy, Anwar Ibrahim.
Even in the state assembly seat, their victory margin fell to 508 votes Thursday from 1,840 three years ago. They won the parliamentary seat in 1999 by 2,934 votes.
The contest was the first head-to-head fight between the parties since Sept. 11, which has raised fears of extremism among many of Malaysia's 23 million people.