Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday demanded a special Parliament session to hold a vote of no confidence against the government, after his request to meet embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was flatly rejected.

Anwar, who has claimed to have more than enough defecting government lawmakers to topple the government, said the emergency session needs to be held no later than Tuesday to "deliberate a motion of censure or no-confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi."

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday that he might resign before a previously set deadline of 2010, as a dissident party said it would pull out of his ruling coalition.

The small Sabah Progressive Party announced it would quit the ruling National Front coalition because of dissatisfaction with the prime minister.

The decision was hardly a surprise after the party said in June that it would propose a no-confidence motion in Parliament against Abdullah's leadership.

Although the party has only two lawmakers in Parliament, its act of rare defiance against Abdullah underscores the embattled leader's struggle to hold on to power.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday that he might resign before a previously set deadline of 2010 when he is to hand over power to his deputy.

Abdullah, who has been facing mounting pressure from within his own ruling party to resign, said he would hand over his portfolio as finance minister to his deputy Najib Razak, and take on the smaller defence ministry from Najib.

Abdullah, who has promised to step down in June 2010, declined to give further details of a more definite time frame for his resignation.

Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 17 : A young Malay Indian mother who was wrongly detained by the Malaysian immigration authorities for nearly eleven months, is now demanding an apology from the department’s director-general.

M. Rajeshvari, who was recently released from the Lenggeng Immigration Detention Center, has relayed her demand through Perak Health, Environment and Human Resources Committee chairman A. Sivanesan, as she is not fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.

Sivanesan told reporters in Ipoh that demand had been forwarded to the Immigration Department’s Director General, Mahmud Adam, a fortnight ago, but he has been “dead silent” on the matter.

Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 16: Former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is insisting that he has the numbers to form the next Government.

Though he refused to give details about how many Barisan Nasional members would join him, he told reporters in Petaling Jaya on the sidelines of celebrations to mark the 45th Malaysia Day, that he had sought a meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to discuss a smooth transition of power.

The Pakatan gathering at the Kelana Jaya Stadium last night drew thousands of supporters.

Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 16 : The trial of the 66 Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) supporters charged for illegal assembly and causing mischief has been postponed to next year by a Shah Alam Sessions Court.

Judge M. Gunalan fixed March 24 to 27, May 11 to 15 and July 6 to 10 as trial dates.

The 66 accused are aged between 20 and 56 and five of them failed to turn up in court on Monday, prompting Judge Gunalan to warn that warrants of arrests would be issued if they failed to attend their hearing next year.

According to the New Strait Times, the judge also ordered the five men -- E. Segaran, S. Gunaseelan, J. Prakash, S. Ravi and R. Vijayndran -- to give the court valid reasons for their absence.