==> Pls visit new site at http://malaysia-today.net/ <==

Opposition members have also accused Mr. Najib of involvement in the 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, who had been having an affair with one of Mr. Najib's aides.

By JAMES HOOKWAY, The Wall Street Journal

The Malaysian government suspended two opposition newspapers without explanation Monday, adding to fears that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is trying to silence the fledgling opposition movement as he prepares to become prime minister next month.

Opposition politicians and some political analysts say Mr. Najib has been working to sideline his potential rivals, including those within his own party, as the country -- an important U.S. trading partner -- begins to feel the full brunt of the global economic crisis.

Bloomberg News (Anwar Ibrahim); Reuters (Razak)

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, left, and Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister, are longtime rivals.

Mr. Najib, the 55-year-old British-educated son of Malaysia's second prime minister, is running unopposed for his party's presidency at a party assembly this week, and in that role is expected to become prime minister in early April. Since June, when current Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi declared his intention to step down, Mr. Najib has emerged as Malaysia's most powerful politician.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told The Wall Street Journal that the newspaper closures are designed to silence criticism of Mr. Najib's premiership, which is expected to begin in early April. The closures "are part of a disturbing trend which reflect what Mr. Najib is all about," he said.

Mr. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, said he believed the three-month shutdown of the newspapers was partially intended to stop reporting of allegations of corruption in weapons purchases for Malaysia's armed forces while Mr. Najib was defense minister.

Mr. Najib, who didn't respond to requests to be interviewed for this article, has previously said there was no corruption in the purchases.

Opposition members have also accused Mr. Najib of involvement in the 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, who had been having an affair with one of Mr. Najib's aides. Ms. Shaariibuu was shot to death and her body was then blown up with plastic explosives in a forest clearing outside Kuala Lumpur.

Mr. Najib has denied having anything to do with the death of Ms. Shaariibuu. His aide was acquitted in October of charges of abetting the murder.

A court is scheduled to decide next month whether to convict two police officers on charges that they killed Ms. Shaariibuu.

Opponents say the leadership of Malaysia's dominant party, the United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, is steering the country back into its authoritarian past to thwart any public backlash against the ruling coalition as the nation's economy slows.

"We believe we are in for more punitive measures" when Mr. Najib takes power, Mr. Anwar said. "The antidemocratic forces in this country are now in full flow."

Monday evening, riot police fired tear gas to break up a political rally led by Mr. Anwar in northern Malaysia, according to Malaysia-based media and Mr. Anwar's aides. It wasn't immediately clear why the police acted.

UMNO is the main party in the National Front Coalition, which has run Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957. Mr. Najib and his allies last year pushed Mr. Abdullah, widely seen as a comparatively moderate reformer, to promise to cede power after the opposition alliance broke the National Front's customary two-thirds majority in parliament in national elections.

A number of politicians whom analysts perceive as loyal to Prime Minister Abdullah were banned from contesting senior party posts at this week's annual UMNO assembly because of allegations of corruption.

Mr. Anwar, who leads the opposition alliance, has been distracted by legal issues after a former aide accused him of sodomy, which is a crime in the conservative, predominantly Muslim society. Mr. Anwar, who was convicted and then acquitted of the same crime as he gained power in 1998, says he is innocent and is being framed by Mr. Najib's operatives.

Mr. Najib has said he had nothing to do with Mr. Anwar's case, which was recently sent for trial in Malaysia's top court.

The shift in Malaysia's political climate comes at a critical juncture for this racially divided country. Malaysia's economy could contract by as much as 4% this year, according to projections by some economists, including the independent Malaysian Institute of Economic Research.

The global economic crisis is sapping foreign demand for the country's exports of electronic components and mineral resources.

The slump threatens to further polarize a country that, historically, has depended on growth rates of 5% or more a year to create enough jobs and wealth to damp longstanding tensions between its majority ethnic Malay population and its ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

Mr. Najib, a follower of outspoken former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who led Malaysia for 22 years, has said he plans to continue to strengthen the affirmative-action policies designed to ensure economic power for Malaysia's Malays, although he says he intends to offer help only to people who need it.

Opposition politicians such as Mr. Anwar, who is Malay, complain that the so-called New Economic Policy, which was enacted after race riots in 1969, is damaging Malaysia's competitiveness and its ability to bounce back from the global slump.

The affirmative-action policy has long delayed the negotiation of a free-trade agreement with U.S., and the government's insistence that government contracts continue to go to Malay-owned firms will likely to be a sticking point for years to come, analysts say.

Mr. Najib is "going to take a hard line, mostly to stabilize the ruling party itself. Mr. Najib has to show he's tough or he won't survive," says James Chin, a political-science professor at the Malaysian campus of Australia's Monash University.

Comments (4)