Malaysia’s Anwar says opposition can win elections

Anwar Ibrahim. AFP FILE PHOTO

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says he is confident his three-party alliance can win a “comfortable” majority in upcoming elections.

National polls are not due until 2013 but speculation has been rife that Prime Minister Najib Razak will dissolve Parliament soon. Najib’s coalition has led Malaysia since independence in 1957 but suffered its worst electoral performance ever in 2008. It now has slightly less than a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Anwar told the foreign media late Tuesday that he believes his alliance can wrest control of Parliament with a margin of at least 10 seats amid widespread public unhappiness over alleged government corruption and racial discrimination.