The royal titular head of a Malaysian state has criticised an Islamic opposition party for opposing a planned music concert, dismissing the protest as “hypocritical” and “trivial” in a rare outburst.

Malaysia’s ruling coalition suffered its biggest yet electoral upset, losing control of four state governments and failing to win a two-thirds majority in parliament, in a protest vote against racial discrimination, crime and corruption.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s ruling coalition suffered its biggest upset in nearly four decades in general elections today, reflecting widespread unhappiness at his failure to curb racial tensions, corruption and inflation.

Malaysia’s leader said claims made to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that his government pursued ethnic cleansing policies were lies designed to divide the races in the Muslim-majority country.

Authorities in central Malaysia plan to take legal action against oil palm plantation owners who burned agricultural waste, defying a ban that was installed to ease the choking smog caused by fires in Indonesia.

King Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, elected by sultans under Malaysia’s unusual royal rotation system, died today after weeks of complications following heart surgery, prime minister Mahathir Mohamad announced.