The following are brief portraits of the leaders of the main parties in the general elections, which are expected this month after the dissolution of parliament was announced today.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, 64, became prime minister in October last year when Dr Mahathir Mohamad retired after 22 years in power. He had been Mahathir's deputy.

Abdullah heads the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the dominant party in the Barisan Nasional coalition which has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

Known by his supporters as "Mr Nice Guy", Abdullah has a less confrontational style than the outspoken Mahathir, but has faced doubts about his ability to unite the often fractious Umno and rally voters.

Abdullah was born in November 1939 in Penang, northwest Malaysia. His father was a founding member of Umno. After gaining a degree in Islamic studies in 1964, he worked in the civil service before being elected to parliament in 1978.

Umno had 72 seats in the last parliament out of the BN's total of 150.

Abdul Hadi Awang

Abdul Hadi Awang, 56, heads the main opposition group, the Islamic Party (PAS), which wants to turn Malaysia into a theocratic state and restore what he calls "God's laws", including amputation and stoning to death for errant Muslims.

Abdul Hadi, the opposition leader in parliament, says PAS is not extremist but "pure fundamentalist" and answerable only to God.

In the 1999 election, PAS tripled its parliamentary seats to 27. It also controls the two state governments of Terengganu and Kelantan in the northeast of the country.

Lim Kit Siang

Lim Kit Siang, 63, is a veteran leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) and has twice been detained under the tough Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.

He was a lawmaker from 1969 to 1999 before losing his seat, and served as the parliamentary opposition leader from 1975 to 1999.

Lim campaigns for a democratic, socialist Malaysia. His party, which held 10 seats, is a member of the Socialist International group and draws most of its support from the Chinese minority.

Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail

Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 52, entered politics as the leader of the National Justice Party (Keadilan), which was formed after her husband Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and jailed on charges of corruption and sodomy.

In the last elections in 1999, Wan Azizah contested Anwar's parliamentary seat in the northern Penang state and won. The party also won four other seats.

She has become a tireless campaigner for justice, transparency and change in Malaysia. - AFP