Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took his unofficial nationwide election campaign to a state seen as the most vulnerable to being snatched by the hardline Islamic opposition.

Abdullah, who is yet to announce the date of elections expected within a month, visited northwestern Kedah state which the Islamic Party (PAS) hopes to add to the two out of 13 states which it already controls.

He pledged to help the agricultural province, known as Malaysia's "rice bowl", achieve a target of economic development set by his predcecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2001 after PAS made sweeping gains among the rural poor in 1999 elections.

Kedah is Mahathir's home state and the election results there will be seen as an indication of whether Abdullah has been able to reverse the swing to PAS, which wants to impose a theocratic government in Malaysia.

If his Umno instead loses support to the hardliners, he could face a challenge for the leaderhsip at the party congress later in the year.

'I'm not alone'

The prime minister admitted during his visit that some critics were sceptical of his ability to lead the often fractious Umno, dominated for 22 years by Mahathir.

"I know there are some political writers who say I am alone, they are not very sure whether the party is with me or not," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency. "I believe the party is with me."

At the same time, he admitted, "It's certainly lonely at the top."

"When I took over, some people had expressed doubts and some had commented 'Dr Mahathir's shoes are very big, can you wear them?' I merely replied 'I don't know how big his shoes are, but I have my (own) shoes'."

Abdullah, who took over when Mahathir retired last October, is expected to call a snap election within 30 days after cancelling an overseas trip last week to focus on his nationwide tour.

He has maintained a hectic schedule of visits to provinces around the country in recent weeks while remaining tight-lipped over when he will call a vote.

Elections are not due until the year's end, but analysts say Abdullah wants to capitalise on a "feel-good" factor from the smooth transition of power and his pledges to fight corruption and government inefficiency. - AFP