Prime minister-designate Najib Abdul Razak, who succeeds Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March, faces a by-election that will test whether voters, especially the majority Malays, still support the 13-party coalition government which suffered massive setbacks in general elections last year.

This acid test for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition comes at a time of political and economic uncertainties with the economy shrinking and the country possibly staring at a recession after several decades of high-profile growth.