Malaysian police arrest opposition officials

Police in Malaysia have arrested two senior figures of the opposition National Justice Party in connection with a controversy surrounding a state by-election last month.

The two men -- the party's vice-chairman Tian Chua and information chief Roslan Kassim -- can be held for twenty-four hours before charges must be laid.

The arrests relate to an incident during polling in the northern state of Kedah, at the end of November, when opposition officials are alleged to have blocked bus-loads of government supporters from entering the town of Lunas. The opposition said they were `phantom' voters bussed in from out of state to vote fraudulently. Four other opposition supporters were charged in court yesterday Thursday with rioting in connection with the same incident.

They were granted bail pending trial.

The Justice Party was formed after Mr Mahathir fired his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, in 1998.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service