Opposition parties to boycott Malaysia by-election

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (Reuters) Malaysian opposition parties forfeited a rare chance today to take on the ruling coalition in a by-election in a Malay heartland, citing unfair election rules, party officials said.

Islamic party PAS and Parti Keadilan, a party headed by the wife of Anwar Ibrahim, have both boycotted the January 28 polls in the central state of Pahang as analysts feared the parties could suffer humiliating defeats despite growing discontent with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's three-year rule.

''It's a bit of a gamble for PAS,'' said Terence Chong, a fellow at Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies. ''If it loses very badly, morale will be affected.'' Officials at PAS, which rules one of Malaysia's 14 states and whose official platform is to turn the country into an Islamic state, declined to say whether the pullout was prompted by the risk of losing.

''The boycott is meant for us to send a clear signal to the government that we are serious about election reforms,'' PAS deputy chief Nasharuddin Mat Isa said at a news conference.

He said it had found discrepancies in the voters' list for the Batu Talam constituency in Pahang, a state where the party traditionally has little support.

''The electoral roll is doubtful and the election process is not transparent, is prejudicial and impartial,'' PAS and Keadilan said in a joint statement.

Parti Keadilan was born out of the ''Reformasi'' movement led by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The opposition has often complained that Malaysia's Election Commission favoured the ruling coalition and election laws were dated and ineffective in checking fraud.

General elections are not due until 2009 but opposition figures and analysts said the prime minister might call snap polls in late 2007 or early 2008.

Abdullah, battling unprecedented criticism from his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, is also losing popularity over some tough measures including allowing prices of petrol, road tolls, electricity and other essentials to rise, analysts said.

REUTERS SP SSC1309