Malaysian PM calls early elections

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia)—Malaysia’s prime minister on Wednesday announced early general elections that will test his declining popularity amid complaints about inflation, crime and ethnic tensions.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Malaysia’s constitutional monarch had endorsed the dissolution of Parliament and that the Election Commission would soon set a date for the vote. Elections must be conducted within 60 days after Parliament is dissolved, but typically are held sooner than that.
Abdullah led his National Front coalition to a landslide victory in the last elections in 2004, when it won 90 percent of parliamentary seats.
The National Front, a coalition of 14 parties, is dominated by the United Malays National Organization, the self-proclaimed representative of the country’s ethnic Muslim Malays, who comprise 60 percent of the 27 million population. Ethnic Chinese account for 25 percent and ethnic Indians 8 percent.—Agencies