By IRNA
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian ruling party, which has retained power since the nation declared independence in 1967, fell short of a two-thirds majority Saturday.
Opposition leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, with husband Anwar Ibrahim, casts her vote Saturday.
The National Front coalition won 137 of the 222 seats at stake, or less than 62 percent, Bernama said citing the Election Commission.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition party claimed 82 seats.
By contrast, in 2004, the National Front clinched 199 of 219 seats, or nearly 91 percent.
“Today, at the ballot box, you listened to your heart with a firm conviction that the time for change has arrived,” Ibrahim said.
“The people of Malaysia have spoken. This is a defining moment, unprecedented in our nation’s history.”
Ibrahim’s opposition has gradually chipped away at the National Front’ s power, leaving some concerned about the future of party leader and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Badawi, who has held the post since November 2003, dismissed such talk at a news conference Saturday, according to Bernama news agency.
“I don’t know who is being pressured” to step down, Badawi said.
“I’m not resigning.”