By Nelson Graves

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Malaysia's political mood
has turned increasingly ugly as its two most charismatic politicians
sharpen their attacks ahead of elections.

After a year of invective, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his former
deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, are more divided than ever.

The two men were once a father-son political team overseeing one of Asia's
most vigorous tiger economies. Now a chilling vocabulary of death has
entered the political vernacular.

Anwar, serving a six-year prison term after his conviction in April on
corruption charges, has accused political enemies in Mahathir's camp of
trying to poison him to death.

Mahathir said on Monday that Anwar's allies had threatened to kill his
political secretary, Aziz Samsuddin.

The language reflects the unbridgable gap that has opened up between the
two men, as well as the high stakes at play.

Only recently, Mahathir appeared on the verge of calling snap elections to
capitalise on a resurgent economy and a disparate opposition. Never one to
show his cards, Mahathir may yet choose to go early to the polls, which are
not due until mid 2000.

But Anwar's allegations that he was poisoned, although not proven, have
galvanised the opposition and wrong-footed the government.

Anwar's allies -- mainly Moslem Malays from the community that forms the
backbone of Mahathir's party -- have taken to the streets of the capital
three times since September 10 when the ex-minister alleged he had been
poisoned.

A protest on Sunday pulled 10,000 people into Kuala Lumpur in the biggest
show of street force since Anwar was arrested on September 20, 1998.

Emboldened by the renewed public outrage, the four main opposition parties
said on Tuesday they would endorse Anwar as their candidate to become prime
minister if they won elections.

It was the first time that the four parties -- Keadilan, Parti Islam
se-Malaysia (PAS), Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Rakyat Malaysia
-- had publicly declared their support for Anwar as prime minister.

Authorities have responded aggressively to the turn of events, dismissing
Anwar's allegations of poisoning out of hand and arresting at least six
opposition leaders.

Mahathir has prompted indignation from Anwar's supporters by suggesting
that he may have been poisoned by family or friends.

They say the remark recalls Mahathir's statement after Anwar appeared in
court last year with a black eye -- the prime minister said the injury
could have been self-inflicted.

Five months later, the former chief of police admitted he had assaulted
Anwar in custody.

Mahathir on Monday again sought to turn the tables on Anwar, saying the
jailed minister's supporters had threatened to kill his political
secretary, Aziz Samsuddin.

``Since they are so obsessed with Anwar, they had threatened to kill
Aziz,'' The Star newspaper quoted Mahathir as telling a rally in the
northern state of Perlis.

Parti Keadilan, led by Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, reacted swiftly.

``He (Mahathir) has used his high position in the government to make any
statements he likes without regard to the implications,'' it said in a
statement.

``We call on Dr Mahathir Mohamad to immediately stop making deceptive and
irresponsible statements and to stop planting the seeds of lies in the
whole country.''

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang told Reuters he detected a ``sense of
desperation creeping into the prime minister's pronouncements and public
reactions.''

Keadilan vice president Tian Chua, who was among those arrested this week,
told Reuters before he was detained on Tuesday that the arrests showed ``Dr
Mahathir is feeling insecure with the mass mobilisation.''

A Western diplomat said the protests would make it more difficult for
Mahathir to call elections soon. ``The rhetoric has ratcheted up and now
the elections plans are probably on hold,'' he said. ``But a lot can happen
between now and next year.''