KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday brushed off talk that he would resign, state-run Bernama news agency reported.

There have been some calls for Mr Abdullah to step down after the ruling coalition suffered its worst electoral setback in 50 years in the March 8 poll.

The coalition conceded five states to the opposition and lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority.

Talk that Mr Abdullah could be pressured to resign have fuelled worries of political uncertainties and unnerved investors.

'I am here. They make all the speculations that I want to run away, I've resigned,' the prime minister said.

'Why should I resign? Why I must run away from my entrusted responsibility?' he added, reiterating that the coalition still had a strong majority. -- REUTERS