Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi kicked off his election campaign today, vowing to seize a two-thirds majority in polls dominated by ethnic tensions and anger over rising prices.

The Barisan Nasional coalition, which has ruled for half a century, bagged seven of the 222 parliamentary seats on nomination day, after they went uncontested by the opposition.

abdullah ahmad badawi in ijok 260407Abdullah dismissed as a "marriage of convenience" a pact between the three opposition parties who will field just one candidate in each electorate on March 8, avoiding the three-cornered contest that have hurt them in the past.

"I want it to be a free, fair and democratic election. I want BN to win... with more than a two-thirds majority," he told reporters.

The premier formally submitted his nomination in the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat on the Penang mainland, surrounded by a sea of supporters from BN.

There was heavy security at the nomination centre, with police separating about 1,000 government supporters from about 500 activists from the Islamic party PAS who shouted the opposition battlecry of "Reformasi" or "Reform".

The government holds 90 percent of seats in the outgoing parliament, and the opposition parties want to cut that majority to below two-thirds for the first time.

They are hoping that voters will punish the government over spiralling prices of food and fuel, rising crime rates and friction between the majority Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians.

Cut in subsidies

Abdullah insisted the government could not afford to continue spending RM40 billion a year on fuel subsidies, but pledged to keep the cost of living low.

"The prices of oil has shot up. Even then we are trying our best to make sure it will not affect the people so much," he said.

Abdullah, whose cabinet contains many veterans of the previous administration of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said his ministers were not assured of keeping their jobs in a new government after the March 8 polls.

Long-serving politicians who were expected to be ousted in the run-up to the polls have so far retained their positions.

"I have made no promises to anyone. I have a free hand (after the election)," he was quoted as saying in an interview with the New Straits Times.

"I did not promise anybody anything; whether a return to the cabinet or any other post," he added.

Abdullah swept to power in a 2004 landslide, but since then has been gained a reputation for being weak and unable to carry out promised reforms like eradicating corruption, at least partly due to his ageing cabinet line-up.

Figures like Samy Vellu, the only ethnic Indian minister in the multi-racial coalition, are standing again despite strong criticism over his handling of recent anti-discrimination protests by Indian activists.

Abdullah defended the old faces in his line-up, saying they were critical to the election campaign, in which the opposition is aiming to deprive the coalition of its two-thirds majority for the first time in history.

"In facing elections, the party must be led by those who have experience because we do not want problems which may affect our chances to crop up due to inexperience," he told NST.

Hopes of rejuvenation?

Analysts said Abdullah's popularity, which has already plummeted, would be further damaged if he dashes hopes of rejuvenation in the coalition which has ruled Malaysia since independence a half century ago.

"If things remain as they are with the old guard being retained, then it will be problematic for the future of the party," said political analyst Tricia Yeoh from the Centre for Public Policy Studies.

"If he wants to talk about change he needs to show it rather than just speak about it," she said.

In Kepala Batas, Abdullah is contesting against a candidate from PAS, one of the three main opposition parties who have made a pact to stand just one opposition figure in each seat and avoid three-cornered fights.

"Malaysia is rich with resources but the wealth is only serving the needs of the cronies of BN. Corruption is rampant. We promise to stamp it out," said PAS candidate Subri Mat Arshad.

- AFP