Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today stormed a key battleground state in next week's elections, telling voters to reject the hardline Islamic opposition because it had failed to reduce poverty in areas under its control.

Abdullah, visiting the northern state of Kedah in the run-up to the March 21 vote, said the Muslim-based PAS has failed to bring economic development to Kelantan, one of two key states it controls in the country's Malay heartland.

PAS has vowed to wrest control of Kedah and several other states from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. Abdullah's Umno is the biggest political party in the front.

"There is another party that wants to take over Kedah," the prime minister said in a speech to about 2,000 fishermen and farmers in this village, in a clear reference to PAS.

"That's their ambition, but the poverty rate in Kelantan is even higher than Kedah. They are busy criticising us but they cannot tackle their own problems.

"We want the people to support us because we want to continue our development plans. The country cannot stay as it is. It must move forward."

Only BN can bring development

Abdullah said it was only the ruling party that could bring economic development to the largely Muslim nation, already one of the most developed countries in the Islamic world.

"We are a government that supports the people. We know the aspirations of the people. A weak government cannot do anything, only a strong government can deliver development," said Abdullah, who was visiting Kedah for the third time in five months.

The government has harped on the country's economic prosperity under the ruling coalition, which advocates a moderate and tolerant version of Islam. PAS says it favours a theocratic Islamic state if it gains power.

Malaysia's gross domestic product expanded 5.2 percent in 2003, beating a 4.5 percent target, and was on track to achieve the official forecast of 5.5 to 6.0 percent growth this year, the central bank has said.

US-based credit rating agency Standard and Poor's said however Abdullah will need to win a big mandate to enable him to push through reform initiatives and tackle economic challenges.

The agency cited Malaysia's high debt level, towering budget deficit and a slowdown in foreign investment as among issues the premier must resolve. - AFP