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Party guide: Malaysia's opposition alliance
Anti-government protests this year helped unite the opposition |
In the run-up to the Malaysian election, four main opposition parties have joined forces to challenge the Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Click here for profiles of the four parties
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The new alliance has named jailed former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as their candidate for prime minister should they pull-off a surprise win.
But with Mr Anwar behind bars - serving a six year sentence for corruption whilst also standing trial for sodomy - it is unclear what sort of role he could realistically play.
The four parties in the Alternative Alliance are:
The Democratic Action Party (DAP)
Seats held in last parliament: 7
Number of candidates for 1999 election: 47
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Even before the Anwar affair blew up, Mr Lim had a reputation as a fearless government critic and was jailed twice under Malaysia's sweeping internal security laws.
With the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim last year, Mr Lim moved quickly to ally himself with the pro-Anwar camp in the hope of uniting an opposition otherwise divided by race and religion.
DAP representatives have frequently spoken out against government corruption.
They also argue that Malaysia should abandon its policies of positive discrimination intended to improve the economic status of indigenous Malays and move towards a meritocracy.
The Islamic Party of Malaysia (Pas)
Seats held in last parliament: 8
Number of candidates for 1999 election: 61
Pas has long championed the wider use of Islamic law in Malaysia and is the only opposition party to have won control of a state government - the state of Kelantan on Malaysia's predominantly Muslim east coast.
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Pas has its sights set on expanding it influence in at least three other states in this election, but observers say its campaign to turn Malaysia into a fully fledged Islamic state could scare off many voters.
In July, for example, one Pas MP introduced a bill that would have brought in the death penalty for any Malay convicted of apostasy - renunciation of the Muslim faith.
As a result party officials concede they will not be emphasising their calls for an Islamic state during this campaign.
The National Justice Party (Keadilan)
No seats in last parliament
Number of candidates for 1999 election: 64
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Wan Azizah, a former eye surgeon and housewife, says the party was set up as a forum to encourage political, economic and social reform through "peaceful, democratic means".
Although lacking political experience, she has a charisma that has attracted her to a broad range of Malaysians and she is widely seen as the driving force behind the creation of the opposition alliance.
Many Keadilan members have defected to the party from Dr Mahathir's United Malay National Organisation (Umno) in protest at the treatment meted out to Wan Azizah's husband.
Wan Azizah has pledged that the Alternative Front will field candidates in every constituency, however she has yet to resolve differences with alliance partners over which parties will contest which seats.
Critics say the groundswell of support that Keadilan claims to have attracted is nothing more than passing curiosity over what they say is a fad-ish "parti nyamuk" (mosquito party).
The Malaysian Peoples' Party (PRM)
No seats in last parliament
Number of candidates for 1999 election: 5
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The party has never won a parliamentary seat but has nonetheless been a vocal and longstanding feature of the Malaysian political scene.
The party says it stands for building a new Malaysia based on the principles of economic, political and social justice, free from the corruption and cronyism of previous governments.
It is campaigning to reverse the growing gap between urban rich and rural poor in Malaysia.
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