Kuala Lumpur (PTI): Polling closed in Malaysia on Saturday after voters cast their ballots in a snap parliamentary election widely expected to bring the ruling coalition back to power.

Voting was by and large peaceful across the country except in northern Terengganu state where police fired tear gas in retaliation on 300 supporters of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), who had resorted to stone-pelting at police vehicles.

Police said the trouble began when PAS supporters stopped several buses and cars they suspected were carrying fraudulent voters ferried in by the coalition.

Barisan Nasional, which had won 91 per cent of parliamentary seats in 2004 elections, is expected to get back to power but with a dented majority owing to the discontent in the ethnic Indian minority which alleges discrimination.

The Prime Minister, who cast his vote this morning at his Kepala Betas parliamentary constituency in Penang state, earlier said that the government wanted to hear directly the issues raised by the minority ethnic Indians and Chinese leaders in the cabinet and state executive councils and take "corrective steps".

Indians comprise 7.8 per cent of the total population of 27 million people and are largely Hindus from Tamil Nadu. A key issue which both Indians and the ethnic Chinese who number about 25 per cent of the population is the affirmative action programme of the government which gives the Muslim Malays preference in government jobs and education.

At stake are 214 parliamentary seats and 501 state seats.