Malaysia by-election split

Malaysians need to choose how Islamic they want their state to be

PENDANG, Malaysia -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is clawing back votes from his rival Pan-Islamic Party after clinching one by-election victory and narrowly losing another.

The Muslim fundamentalist Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) retained their seat in the State Assembly but lost their parliamentary seat to Mahathir's United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

"This shows Malaysia is a truly democratic country, where we can win one seat but lose another," he said on state television.

Mahathir, among Asia's longest serving leaders, has been in power for 21 years.

Islamic party members say they are suspicious of the high voter turnout, which was well over 80 percent for both seats.

AUDIO James, Wong, chief analyst at malaysiakini.com assess what Malaysian voters are saying about the leadership transition 1.75 MB / 2 mins 47 secs WAV sound   IN-DEPTH Malaysia under Mahathir      CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

Voters needed to pick between the ruling UMNO that spearheaded the country's meteoric economic rise, and the PAS, which is keen to impose tough Islamic laws.

Last week, the PAS party voted for harsh laws in neighboring Terengganu state, including stoning, whipping and amputation. Mahathir has said the central government will not let the laws be enforced.

The fundamentalist PAS party was vying for two seats in Mahathir's home state of Kedah after one of its moderate members, Fadzil Noor, died.

Following his death, the party has come under mounting control by hardliners at a time when more commentators are worried about Islamic extremism in this Southeast Asian country.

As voters streamed to the polls, police helicopters hovered overhead while officers with water cannons stood by, The Associated Press reported.

Riot police were called in to Alor Setar, the state capital, after fundamentalist supporters blocked more than 10 buses, but there was no report of violence anywhere else.

Roll back tide

All eyes were on how well the ruling party would fare in this vote, after an Islamic tide snatched away Malay votes three years ago.

The two parties are fighting for the hearts of Malay Muslims

Then Mahathir lost his two-thirds majority in the state assembly, where Fadzil's party won 12 of 36 seats as well as eight of 15 parliamentary seats.

While just over half of Malaysia's 23 million people are Muslim, losing the parliamentary seat will be a setback for PAS, which is keen to turn the multicultural country into an Islamic state.

But non-Muslim ethnic Chinese and Indian voters were expected to shun the fundamentalists and their dream.

Already Islamic

Last year Mahathir claimed that Malaysia is already an Islamic state, but in a tolerate and moderate way.

Under the country's consitution, Islam is the official religion

Under the constitution, Islam is the official religion, but government institutions remain secular.

Since September 11 Mahathir has nabbed scores of suspected militants -- many of them members of the fundamentalist party -- who have been accused of plotting terror attacks.

The race is the first since Mahathir, 76, tearfully declared his intention to resign last month.

Under appeals by supporters, he agreed to stay and will hand power to his current deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, next year.

Mahathir may use the by-election to gauge whether he should call general elections next year. They are not due until November 2004.