Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak began a second term Monday after the coalition which has ruled for 56 years held on to power in elections branded as fraudulent by a bitter opposition. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim called for a rally in two days' time to protest at a victory he said was achieved via the "worst electoral fraud in our history" and which saw the ruling camp win with a minority of the vote.

Prime Minister Najib Razak was sworn in for a second term by Malaysia's king on Monday, after his 56-year-old ruling coalition retained power in elections branded as fraudulent by the opposition. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim called for a rally in two days' time to protest at a victory which he said was achieved via the "worst electoral fraud in our history". The coalition that has ruled since independence in 1957 held off a spirited opposition challenge to retain a firm parliamentary majority in elections widely forecast to be the biggest-ever threat to the ruling bloc.

Anwar Ibrahim said Monday his Malaysian opposition planned to contest the results of a bitter weekend election battle and that the 56-year-old ruling bloc had "lost its legitimacy". "I today maintain we won the elections. The Election Commission is complict in the crime of stealing the election from Malaysians," Anwar told AFP in an interview. "The government has lost its legitimacy." jsm-dma/jms

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's long-governing coalition won national elections with a weakened majority to extend its unbroken, 56-year rule, fending off the strongest opposition it has ever faced but exposing vulnerabilities in the process. The Election Commission reported that Prime Minister Najib Razak's National Front coalition captured 133 of Malaysia's 222 parliamentary seats Sunday, down slightly from the 135 it held before Parliament was dissolved.