Malaysia - Malaysian PM hopes for elections "soon"

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Prime Minister said he hoped to call elections soon, a report said Thursday, as speculation over a poll date heats up following the court acquittal of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

But in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Prime Minister Najib Razak said he would not call a general election until he had delivered on his recent promise to introduce democratic reforms.

Najib must call polls by the spring of 2013, but speculation mounted this week that he may call them within months before the opposition is able to organise itself, following their leader's court victory on Monday.

Anwar, a charismatic former deputy premier ousted in a 1998 power struggle, has fought for years to unseat the former ruling coalition he was once poised to lead and which has governed Malaysia since 1957 independence from Britain.

This week he was cleared of charges he had sodomised a young aide in 2008. Anwar had said the case was intended to remove him from the political scene. Sodomy is punishable by jail in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

"I hope it will be the right time soon enough, but we still have to deliver on our promises and it's important for people to have the feeling that the reforms we have promised will actually benefit them," Najib was quoted saying.

Facing pressure from an increasingly sophisticated electorate for greater civil liberties and an end to alleged ruling coalition abuses, Najib promised last year to introduce a range of democratic reforms.

They include plans to scrap a colonial-era law allowing detention without trial and other statutes widely viewed as tools to silence government opponents.

Najib is expected to begin introducing replacement laws that he has promised will be softer during a parliamentary session opening in March.

His interview comments suggest the polls would not take place at least until after that.

Following his court reprieve, Anwar vowed to focus on preparations for the next election to ensure that "this corrupt government will be toppled from its pedestals of power."

- AFP/cc


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