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MALAYSIA: Malaysia's ruling National Front coalition is preparing for a showdown with the opposition at a state by-election in Malacca on April 12.
For the first time since Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's landslide victory in the 2003 general elections, the by-election in the sleepy town of Machap will provide a snapshot of the Chinese voting trend and a chance to gauge his current popularity.
Nearly 10,000 voters, almost half of them Chinese, will go to the polls on April 12.
The election is a straight fight between MCA, the Chinese component party in the National Front, and opposition Democratic Action Party.
Led by deputy prime minister Najib Razak, some 10,000 ruling coalition members have promised another crushing defeat for the opposition.
The DAP candidate, Liou Chen Kuang, lost to the MCA by more than 4,000 votes in the 2003 election.
"The people can expect economic stability, job security, peace and prosperity...only then the country can move forward as promised under the ruling coalition manifesto," says Ong Ka Teng, President, MCA.
The opposition may be outnumbered, but it has sworn to put up a good fight by concentrating on issues such as the rising cost of living and the government's continued pro-Malay economic policies.
DAP candidate Liou Chen Kuang says, "We will try our best no matter how tough the fight is going to be."
With all eyes on the Machap by election, political observers say both sides of the political divide will be testing their machinery during the nine-day campaigning to prepare themselves for the general elections widely expected end of the year. - CNA/yy
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