Thousands of Malaysians rushed to register as voters ahead of a December 31 deadline, with a snap general election widely tipped to be called early this year, a report said today.

More than 30,000 voters registered in the last four days of the year, bringing total registrations in the final quarter to 113,000 and exceeding the Election Commission's (EC) estimate of 70,000, the New Straits Times said.

"This (marked increase) really surprised me, but it confirms our suspicion that people like to do things at the last minute," EC secretary Wan Ahmad Wan Omar was quoted as saying.

Many Malaysians were keen to register before the end of the quarter to make sure they can take part in the election if it is called early. The registration process takes about three weeks.

However, the EC would be "going all out to register people in this quarter" after registering nearly 400,000 new voters for 2003, he said.

Not too late

Wan Ahmad said it was not too late to register as one "cannot predict when Parliament will be dissolved."

Elections must be held before the end of 2004, but there has been widespread speculation they could be held early this year.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over from veteran Dr Mahathir Mohamad who resigned October 31 after 22 years in power.

The EC has already set up registration booths at shopping malls and would increase the number of registration clerks there and at post offices to capture young voters, he said.

"We still have 1.7 million eligible Malaysians who have not registered. And we have people who turn 21 every day," he said. - AFP