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PERMATANG PAUH, Malaysia - Malaysia's ruling coalition on Tuesday conceded defeat in a by-election against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who will return to parliament after a decade-long absence.
"Yes of course we have lost... we were the underdogs going into this race," said Muhammad Muhammad Taib, information chief of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) which leads the Barisan Nasional coalition.
Anwar's Keadilan party, which leads a three-member opposition alliance, claimed a "landslide" victory. It said Anwar had garnered at least 65 per cent of the ballot and that the figure could rise as high as 70 per cent.
"We declare victory, the margin is very huge," said Keadilan information chief Tian Chua.
Muhammad said UMNO had been hampered by internal disagreement over the choice of its candidate in the by-election, Arif Shah Omah Shah, and was distracted by upcoming internal leadership polls.
"There are factors that we have to be practical about but this does not mean that he is enjoying full support elsewhere in the country," he told AFP.
"He is the winner here because this is his hometown and the timing of the elections is to his advantage because UMNO's party polls will be held in a month."
Muhammad also dismissed talk that the victory would help Anwar oust the government with the help of defecting lawmakers, after landmark March general elections that handed the opposition unprecedented gains.
"I don't think so. In the last general election the people gave the Barisan Nasional the mandate to rule, so if the opposition wants to form a government they will have to wait for the next general election."
- AFP/ir
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