Malaysia's Sarawak sets polls for May 20

Kuching (Malaysia), Apr 24: Malaysia's eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo island dissolved its legislative assembly today, paving the way for elections, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud told reporters.

Timber-rich Sarawak is one of the safest states politically for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition. It holds 61 of the 62 seats in the state assembly.

The assembly was dissolved today, Taib told a news conference in the state capital of Kuching. Elections must be held within 60 days of the dissolution.

''The state assembly will be dissolved as of today and we have ordered the attorney-general to inform the election commission,'' Taib said. ''The election commission will decide on nomination and polling dates.'' The polls will be held on May 20, official news agency Bernama quoted the chief of the election commission as saying.

Land rights are the most contentious issue in the state of roughly 2.2 million people -- a tenth of Malaysia's population -- but the festering issue has had little bearing on past elections.

The number of seats up for grabs in the next election, which is to be Sarawak's ninth such poll since Malaysia became independent in 1957, has grown to 71 as the state has carved out nine new constituencies since the last election, in 2001.

Abdullah's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) does not contest elections in Sarawak, but its four coalition partners there -- led by long-time ally Taib, who has held office for 25 years -- hold the bulk of the assembly seats.

The lone opposition seat is held by the Democratic Action Party, backed predominantly by ethnic Chinese.

The religiously conservative Parti Islam se-Malaysia, which wants to introduce stricter Islamic laws, is not a force in Sarawak, where ethnic Chinese people and minority groups such as the Iban, Melanau and Penan make up the bulk of the population.

Reuters