PAS' acting president Abdul Hadi Awang today expressed confidence of a victory for his party in crucial by-elections in the Malay heartland seen as a barometer for a coming general election.

PAS, which controls Terengganu and Kelantan states, is pit against the ruling Umno in Thursday's polls for parliamentary and state assembly seats in Kedah.

The party stood a good chance of retaining the Pendang parliamentary and Anak Bukit state seats in the state as voters' support was "very strong", Hadi told AFP .

Both the seats fell vacant following the death of PAS leader Fadzil Noor last month.

"We see our chances as very bright but the task is not easy because we are not competing against another party but the entire government and its resources," he said.

The by-elections will be a test of support for strict Islamic syariah laws to be imposed by the party in Terengganu, he added.

"If we win in this by-elections, it shows an acceptance of PAS and its laws."

Last battle

Syariah law prescribes measures such as amputation for theft and stoning to death for adultery.

The by-elections are seen as the last electoral battle before the general elections which must be called by 2004 but are widely expected next year.

PAS has put two newcomers up against two seasoned Umno veterans.

Analysts say the by-elections, which come 15 months before veteran Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad steps down, are crucial for Umno.

Winning the Anak Bukit state seat will see Umno regain a two-thirds majority rule in the Kedah state assembly and a victory in Pendang will further boost the party's confidence in the general election.

Intense campaigning

The run-up to Thursday's polls has seen intense campaigning and rising tension, with reported cases of assaults on supporters from both sides.

Election Commission secretary Wan Ahmad Wan Omar has described the campaigning in Kedah as "crude and callous" and warned party workers from both camps to abide by campaign ethics.

PAS supporters have reportedly distributed posters depicting Mahathir as a Catholic priest and his deputy and named successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as a seller of pork, regarded as unclean in Islam.

There were also cases of posters being removed and supporters hindering opposing parties from campaigning, Wan Ahmad said, warning that police were on stand-by to handle such cases.

Many politicians and observers predict that Umno would win the Anak Bukit state seat while PAS would retain the Pendang parliamentary seat.

Such a split is seen as encouraging for Umno but may dent the PAS ambition of taking over Kedah in the coming elections after making inroads in the state during the 1999 general elections.

Malay support for PAS rose significantly in the 1999 polls but has been eroded after its aim of creating a purist Islamic state sparked fears of religious extremism in the wake of last year's terror attacks in the United States, blamed on the Islamic al-Qaeda network. AFP