KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA: Malaysia, the world's most modern Muslim nation, and Indonesia, which brags the world's largest Muslim population, are heading for general elections in upcoming weeks but in both countries Islamic-based parties are not expected to win, analysts say.

Malaysians will go to the polls on March 21, while neighbouring Indonesia will hold a general election April 5. While most political observers believe Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is assured a win the polls, the new leader is being hard pressed by his opposition to prove to the largely-Moslem voters that a moderate Islamic government is the best bet for the country's future.

The battle between Abdullah's United Malay's National Organization (UMNO) and the hardline opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) embodies a struggle between modernist Moslems and their more ancient counterparts as seen in almost all Islamic countries.

In rallies leading up to the elections, Abdullah has announced that "Islam is a religion for development", pledging that his government would continue to preserve the delicate balance of peace between races in this multicultural nation.

"We want the promotion of Islam in moderation with various races living together in harmony," he said. He has warned voters not to "risk" voting for less-tolerant leaders, adding that the current government should be credited with having transformed a commodity-based economy over the past two decades into one of the region's fastest growing economies.

Although clearly described as secular in the federal constitution, the government announced last September that Malaysia, which also boasts one of Asia's largest gambling dens in the form of a hill-top casino, is in fact a "model Islamic state".

While Abdullah stresses economic growth, PAS' political manifesto lies largely on the claim that economic development has brought with it decadence and a loss of piety and true Islamic values.

PAS, which controls two of Malaysia's 13 states in the Malay heartland in the rural northeast, is pressing for a theocratic state governed by Sharia criminal laws complete with amputations and stoning to death.

Party president Abdul Hadi Awang has challenged Abdullah to spell out his version of an Islamic state, and has accused UMNO, the backbone of the ruling coalition, of failing to defend it's record as the Islamic torchbearer in the country.

PAS, which has followed up past campaign rhetoric with implementing Sharia-like policies in the two states it has won to its side, has raised concerns among political observers fearful of a growing trend towards Muslim fundamentalism in Southeast Asia. -DPA