In PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's view, only two factors have kept Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) in power all these years - manipulation of the media and "corrupt practices".

He said this in an interview with malaysiakini and London-based BBC Radio (Indonesia) last week in Kuala Lumpur. The first part was posted here yesterday.

Denying that Umno is too strong a party for PAS to defeat, Hadi said his adversaries would not have succeeded if voters had been able to assess their true worth during election campaigns.

"We don't regard Umno as a strong party. It has had to resort to malpractice to survive the elections. If we fight on substance alone, it will definitely fail," said Hadi.

He alleged that Umno and its coalition partners have managed to hoodwink the public - especially those who are poor and not well educated - into voting for them.

"Umno has abused and misused the media to scare people with lies about opposition parties. It has used racial sentiments to intimidate non-Malays. As caretaker during election campaigns, it has had no qualms about using government machinery for its benefit," he said.

"The BN government has enforced restrictive laws like the Internal Security Act and Official Secrets Act, which punish anyone who dares to expose such abuses. It has used the Universities and University Colleges Act to prevent academicians and students from expressing their views."

Hadi said, however, that dirty tactics could only win the votes of "the uninformed and fence sitters".

"In terms of support and election workforce, we are much stronger than Umno. It has to rely on fence sitters and those less educated - these are the people it taps because it can easily buy their votes," he claimed.

Unlike Umno, Hadi said PAS'supporters come mainly from among those who are educated and have a strong economic background.

"They support us because they are well-informed. Their background enables them to have better access to sources of information like the Internet. They know the meaning of good governance and know what to expect from a democratic government," he said.

Mahathir's 'failings'

Hadi also dismissed the view that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's 22-year leadership has been successful, stating that Mahathir has "failed miserably" in administrating the country from a social and economic viewpoint.

"He has been successful in promoting Malaysia globally with strong speeches at the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement and Organisation of Islamic Conference meetings, but his success stops there.

"He has failed to contain corrupt practices that are rampant in this country, and this is worsened by the fact that corrupt leaders have escaped prosecution."

Hadi further alleged that Mahathir has not stopped the rot of cronyism and that the purported success of bumiputeras has since been questioned because the wealth has only circulated among those connected to leaders.

"Of course, the per capita income sounds impressive. But if you compare the figure with what people in rural areas earn, it means nothing. The urban poor are squatters, while farmers (in the village) are not given land."

He also touched on Mahathir's privatisation policy, claiming this has benefitted the rich and further oppressed the poor.

"Even hospitals are not safe. Before his time, the poor could get free medical treatment but now, they have to pay whenever they go to a (public) hospital," Hadi said.

Controlled media

Hadi also described the decline of democratic practices and human rights as among the worst aspects of Mahathir's legacy.

"More laws and regulations were introduce under him than anyone else, to shackle freedoms. Unfortunately, many don't see his failures because these are carefully hidden by the controlled media," he said.

PAS' biggest challenge in the coming general election - due by November next year - will be to take on the print and broadcast media..

He said the party is already taking steps to "fight" unfair reports in order to attract non-Muslim support and to ensure that accurate information is available about PAS.

"The party will have to make full use of the Internet. To reach those less educated, we will send out information in video compact discs featuring PAS leaders who will dispel false information about us."

Hadi conceded that the task of attracting non-Muslim support for the party has become harder since May 2001 when MCA acquired Chinese dailies Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press , whose reports "had been fair" to PAS.

However, he expressed delight in the interest shown by non-Muslim visitors to the PAS-led Kelantan and Terengganu, in "finding out the truth" about conditions there.

"I am happy to say that most of them have changed their perception about us. We hope there will be more such visits. If this continues, I am confident that PAS will fare better in the coming election," he added.

The interview with Abdul Hadi Awang was conducted in Bahasa Malaysia. Click here to read the complete questions and answers in its original language.