Anwar says BN members want to defect

He promises to play clean, no offer of bribes

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed today that many lawmakers in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition want to defect to his camp after their election debacle.

Anwar told reporters he has been approached by many ruling party lawmakers who won in the March 8 general election. They are welcome to defect but no bribes will be paid to make them to cross over, he said.

''We will remain consistent and committed to the code of ethics. If you want to surrender at a price you have chosen the wrong party,'' he told reporters.

Buying political support, especially by paying voters money, is common in Malaysia, and bribing lawmakers to defect, while not widespread, is known to occur.

The three-party opposition alliance stitched together by Anwar won an unprecedented 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament in the election. It needs 30 more lawmakers to get a majority needed to unseat the BN coalition government.

Anwar's claim could not be immediately confirmed, but would add to persistent rumours of political horse-trading in the aftermath of the disastrous poll results for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's coalition.

Abdullah says he has the full support of his party, and has rejected calls to step down. But Anwar's claim, if true, would add pressure on him to keep the party together.

Anwar did not say how many BN members have approached him, but said they belonged to Abdullah's Umno, the main party in the BN, as well as other smaller parties.

''People have approached and discussed ... but no one dared raise the issue of price (of defection) to me,'' he said, without elaborating. He said he believes some will eventually defect, even without monetary inducement.

But he refused to say if the numbers would be enough to topple the BN government, which is facing its worst political crisis in the 51 years it has been in power.

Although the BN suffered losses in some previous elections, notably in 1999, it is the first time its parliamentary majority has been eroded to this extent. In addition, Anwar's opposition alliance won control of governments in five of Malaysia's 13 states.

Anwar said many of those who approached him won their seats in Sabah and Sarawak, which have emerged as Umno's political stronghold after its spectacular loss of support in Peninsular Malaysia.

The BN won 54 out of the 56 seats in the two states, accounting for nearly 39 per cent of its total 140 seats it Parliament.

Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, was once an Umno star before being accused of corruption and sodomy by then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998. He was convicted of both charges but the sodomy charge was later overturned.

While he was in jail, Anwar's wife formed the PKR, which emerged as the largest opposition party in the elections with 31 parliamentary seats. It is in a coalition with the DAP and PAS. — AP (themalaysianinsider)