The Barisan Alternatif will seek to convince voters that the opposition coalition is just as capable in running the country in view of the recent changes introduced by the government - reforms which have been sought by the opposition for many years.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) vice-president Tian Chua said the opposition front had been successful in "pressuring" the government to take action on the problems confronting the country such as endemic corruption.

"We have succeed almost 50 percent, what we need is another 50 percent," he said in a phone interview today.

He said BA can do better than the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition if it was given the mandate to rule the country.

According to Tian Chua, a BA government would free the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) from all forms of political meddling so that it could effectively check corruption.

The ACA is currently under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department, which critics said would leave the body open to interference from ruling politicians.

The Keadilan leader also claimed that BN is "running out of issues" and is "hijacking" the reformist agenda adopted by the opposition such as corruption, good governance and democracy.

He said that much of the old agenda promoted by BN is no longer relevant, such as the call for 'Malay unity'.

The Anwar factor

Chua also said the 'Anwar Ibrahim factor' will continue to be crucial for his party in attracting voters in the coming general election. The sacked ex-deputy premier, who is the party's advisor, is currently serving a 15-year jail sentence for corruption and sodomy.

"He represents many of the issues we are raising - the political injustices and the abuse of the judicial system," he added.

Keadilan has recently published thousands of election leaflets entitled 'the five reasons I support Keadilan'.

Among the reasons are the demand for Anwar to be released and the adoption of the reformasi agenda - equal rights for all and the protection for the poor.

The others are to increase the opportunity for mother-tongue education and a fair chance for all races to obtain higher education, as well as to ensure there is no police brutality and where individual rights are respected.

Local issues

Meanwhile, PAS central committee member and Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar when contacted said the main electoral issues had been incorporated in the BA common manifesto.

"The manifesto will convince voters that development and administration under BA is more beneficial for the people," he said.

The manifesto however has yet to be released.

Echoing Chua, Mahfuz said the issues of corruption and Anwar will remain the key issues for the opposition during the election.

He said the recent arrests of a few individuals for alleged corruption was only the tip of the iceberg and more should have been done against the real 'big fishes'.

"Fighting corruption should not be just a rhetorical demand. And you should not only do it just for the election," he said.

Another of the Muslim-based party central committee member, Husam Musa, said all PAS candidates have been told to highlight more local issues in the respective states.

He said as there are not too many major national issues in this general election, local issues will predominate, especially the inefficient administration of the BN-led state governments.

"Many people have complained that their Adun (state assemblypersons) have failed to serve them well," said Husam, who is also Kubang Kerian MP.