KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysia's ruling coalition rallied behind the prime minister Sunday, while his spokeswoman said he would not resign despite unprecedented electoral losses that gave the opposition control of one-third of the Parliament.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi shepherded the National Front to its worst performance ever in general elections Saturday.
Former longtime leader Mahathir Mohamad called for Abdullah's resignation, saying he had "apparently made the wrong choice" when he hand-picked Abdullah to succeed him in 2003.
"My view is that he has destroyed" the National Front coalition, Mahathir told reporters Sunday. "It's shocking. ... We have now a very weak government, and a weak government in a multiracial country will find great difficulty in running the country."
But dozens of National Front officials gathered at Abdullah's official residence in the administrative capital, Putrajaya, to "express their support for the boss," said Abdullah's spokeswoman, Wan Esuriyanti Wan Ahmad.
Wan Esuriyanti said Abdullah would be sworn in Monday as prime minister at the national palace. "I can confirm that he is not going to resign," Wan Esuriyanti said.
The National Front won only 140 of 222 seats, losing its two-thirds majority for the first time since 1969 and slumping from its 2004 landslide victory when it won 91 percent of the seats. It also lost control of five states.
The result reflected a huge protest vote sparked by disillusionment among minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who have long complained about discrimination. Ordinary Malaysians, including Malays, were upset over rising prices and crime.
Coalition leaders huddled in meetings Sunday to contemplate their next step, but they sought to show a united stance. Deputy Information Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said "there is no doubt or question at all in the top ranks" that Abdullah should continue to lead the coalition and country.
"The prime minister has a full mandate. He will appoint a new Cabinet," Ahmad Zahid told The Associated Press. "There is no one person to blame for what happened. We all are taking the collective responsibility."
Analysts, however, said Abdullah appeared to have made a political blunder by seeking a fresh mandate amid surging public anger against his administration.
The 68-year-old ignored Malaysia's widening poverty gap and increasing cost of living, analysts said. And corruption appeared to get worse even though he had promised to eradicate it, while charges of nepotism fizzed around his government.
"He misread the signs," said Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, a human rights lawyer and political commentator. "He became the face of the mismanagement of the country. People were beginning to really, really dislike him despite his affable demeanor."
A three-group opposition alliance of the People's Justice Party, the Democratic Action Party and the Islamic Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party won 82 seats. The opposition had 19 seats in the outgoing Parliament.
Simultaneous ballots for 12 state legislatures culminated in the National Front losing control of the assembly in northern Penang, the only state where ethnic Chinese are a majority. It also lost control of Selangor, Kedah and Perak states for the first time, and failed to wrest Kelantan state back from the opposition.
"This is a defining moment, unprecedented in our nation's history," said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. "The people have voted decisively for a new era where the government must be truly inclusive and recognize that all Malaysians, regardless of race and color, culture and religion, are a nation of one."
SEAN YOONG
PEOPLE'S POWER
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