The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday celebrated an election victory that will return him to parliament, boosting his plan to seize power after a decade-long political exile.

Anwar, who had already led a revitalised opposition to unprecedented gains in March general elections, insists he is on track to topple the government by mid-September with the help of defecting lawmakers.

The charismatic 61-year-old won Tuesday's by-election in his home state of Penang despite an intense campaign mounted by the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has ruled Malaysia for half a century since independence from Britain.

"I share in the joy felt by all Malaysians on this historic day. This is a victory for the people. And it's great to be back," said Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges. "We will restore the integrity of the judiciary, fight corruption and build a truly unified nation," he said in a statement.

Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asian expert from Johns Hopkins University, said the result showed Anwar could successfully garner support from across racial lines in multicultural Malaysia, which is dominated by Muslim Malays.

"It's a decisive victory across races, across economic classes for Anwar Ibrahim. It's a decisive message calling for change," she said.

"I think it helps to build momentum," she said of his ambitions to persuade at least 30 ruling coalition lawmakers to switch sides.

The failure to check Anwar's ambitions triggered new calls from within the ruling party for the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose popularity has waned due to rising inflation and rampant corruption.

"He does not have the minimal credibility needed to run the country day by day, let alone to take it in the new directions we need to go in a complex world," said senior ruling party member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.