Elections in Malaysia as a whole may not be cliff hangers, but in the state of Kedah they are. The last time the country went to the polls, in 1999, the ruling National Front coalition won a comfortable majority nationwide, as it has in every election since independence. But it lost eight of Kedah's 15 parliamentary seats, and 12 of the 36 seats in the state assembly, to the opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS). What's more, an unusual number of seats on both sides were won by narrow margins. In the coming election on March 21st, too, the overall outcome is not in doubt: the National Front has already won nearly a tenth of parliamentary seats that are uncontested. But the standing-and job security-of Malaysia's new prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, rests on improving the Front's showing in places such as Kedah.
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机译：总体而言，马来西亚的选举可能并非悬崖峭壁，而是在吉打州。该国上一次进行民意测验是在1999年，当时执政的国民阵线联盟在全国赢得了舒适的多数席位，这是自独立以来的每次大选。但是，它失去了吉打州15个议会席位中的8个，邦议会36个席位中的12个席位给反对派泛马来西亚伊斯兰党（PAS）。更重要的是，双方以微不足道的优势赢得了异常数量的席位。在即将到来的3月21日的选举中，整体结果也不容置疑：国民阵线已经赢得了近十个毫无争议的议会席位。但是，马来西亚新任总理阿卜杜拉·艾哈迈德·巴达维（Abdullah Ahmad Badawi）的地位和工作安全，在于改善前线在吉打州的表现。
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