The twelfth Malaysian election pits Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition against three main opposition parties, the left-leaning Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Islamist party Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) and former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's Party Keadilan (PKR).

Malaysia's Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, joins the programme.

We asked him about rising prices, growing ethnic tensions and whether or not he can maintain a crucial two-thirds parliamentary majority.