Opposition PKR said it is ready for the upcoming general election but anticipates that rival Barisan Nasional (BN) will employ "tough and dirty" tactics in the battle for votes.

tian chua pkr pc on election 130208 "(BN) will manipulate everything it can (including) institutional strengths to gain the upper hand in the elections," PKR information chief Tian Chua claimed at a press conference at the party headquarters in Brickfields this afternoon.

Tian called the press conference two hours after caretaker premier and Barisan Nasional head Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the dissolution of Parliament.

"We (also want to) express our disappointment and outrage against the prime minister, who so blatantly lied to the whole nation yesterday," he said, alleging that this has brought the premier’s "ethics" into question.

Major dailies today front-paged Abdullah’s denial yesterday that Parliament would be dissolved today, although he clarified this morning that he needed Royal assent before making the announcement.

According to Chua, this "lie" has also cast doubt on the premier’s announcement of election goodies , including a string of allocations to Chinese schools in recent weeks.

"They are willing to go all the way to win votes. Whatever projects he has promised now, he can turn around later," said Chua.

abdullah ahmad badawi election annoucement 130208 confident He further claimed that Abdullah - who took power in November 2003 - has lost "legitimacy and credibility".

"In 2004, he was seen as a reformer but now he is seen as an obstacle to reforms, he is the protector of an old corrupt system," argued Chua.

The upcoming poll will see PKR making an intense effort to regain its credibility and representation by taking more seats. It currently holds just one parliamentary seat after suffering a humiliating defeat in the 2004 elections.

The seat is held by its president, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, in Permatang Pauh, Penang. She defeated her rival Pirdaus Ismail of BN with a small majority of about 500 votes.

Seat talks still on

Chua also said that, by dissolving Parliament today, the BN had acted to prevent the PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim from contesting.

"This is clearly the reason why they have rushed into calling the election, as Anwar would have been eligible to stand for election in just a month... BN does not want to see him back in politics," he said.

Nevertheless, he said the party would make an effort to bring Anwar back to Parliament by way of a by-election, after the general election.

anwar election reforms parliament voting ballot 210707 Anwar himself had hinted at the possibility of a comeback , when addressing a ceramah in Balik Pulau, Penang, earlier this month.

Under election law, he is barred from active politics for five years, following a conviction and jail sentence on corruption charges. He will be eligible to contest in the general election after April 15.

Anwar is currently in Hong Kong on a speaking engagement and is expected to call a press conference there this afternoon. He is scheduled to return to Malaysia later today.

abdul khalid ibrahim In a related development, Chua said secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim is in Kota Baru, Kelantan today to wrap up the party’s distribution of seats with PAS.

On negotiations with DAP, he expressed hope that this can be finalised by tomorrow.

"We will contact the DAP in a few hours and hopefully it can be settled in 24 hours," he said.

The DAP-PKR seat talks have been derailed mainly due to the lack of consensus over the distribution of seats in Perak, although agreement has been reached in Penang.