Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants Batu Talam voters to come out in full force and vote tomorrow.

He said that the by-election was called because the government did not want the people there to be without a representative after their previous state assemblyman died.

"As soon as the by-election for the seat is over on Sunday, they will have a state assemblyman to champion their interests," the prime minister told Malaysian journalists covering his participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In a Bernama report, Abdullah also hoped that the voters there would support the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate again just as they did in the 2004 general election.

BN victory

"Of course I wish for the BN candidate to retain the Batu Talam seat," he added.

The Batu Talam by-election will see a contest between BN candidate Abdul Aziz Mat Kiram and Independent Ng Chee Pang.

The state constituency has 10,525 registered voters.

The opposition are boycotting the polls in order to press for electoral reforms.