Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi vowed to continue to lead the government despite an attempt to topple him through a no-confidence motion in Parliament.

abdullah sapp bn supreme council 190608 "This is not something new. I have to accept it. I have my responsibilities. If I keep thinking of people criticising me ... how can I carry out my work," he said after chairing an emergency meeting of top leaders from 13 of the 14 parties in the Barisan Nasional coalition.

"I cannot afford to be distracted by issues that keep coming up. I have to be focused with what I have to do. When things like this happen, we have to deal with it," he said.

Abdullah, who is also finance minister, said he would ensure the economy remained stable despite rising political uncertainties over his leadership.

"We have to manage the economy," he said.

Share prices closed 1.3 percent lower today and broke the 1,200 psychological support level due to heightened political risks and a rise in inflation, dealers said.

Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) president Yong Teck Lee had yesterday made an unprecedented no-confidence call dealing a serious blow to Abdullah, who has faced pressure to quit since disastrous general elections in March.

Sapp, which is a member of the ruling coalition, did not attend the emergency meeting of the BN supreme council.

The leaders have pledged their full support to Abdullah.

"Nobody (in the coalition) supports this motion. Everyone have rejected this and what has taken place is against the spirit of unity within the coalition," Abdullah told journalists.

"This is a collective decision of the Barisan Nasional supreme council."

Fears of a ripple effect of dissent

Analysts said the move for a no-confidence vote when Parliament opens Monday could trigger a ripple effect of dissent within the ruling coalition.

Sapp, which has two members in Parliament, said it would decide tomorrow whether to quit the coalition.

It left open the prospect of joining the opposition alliance led by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

After the March polls that gave the opposition a third of parliamentary seats, Anwar needs to win over just 30 government lawmakers to enable him to form a new administration.

Anwar congratulated Sapp's "bravery", while in a brief response Abdullah said Yong was motivated by personal gain.

But some in Abdullah's dominant Umno said the vote would not "see the light of day" because of parliamentary rules that make it easy for the ruling party to block the motion.