Kuala Lumpur  - Two ruling coalition lawmakers in Malaysia said Wednesday they would seek a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi following the government's bruising losses during recent general elections.

The Sabah Progressive Party announced that two of its cabinet members would support a motion of no-confidence against Abdullah during Monday's parliamentary proceedings.

The mainly-ethnic Chinese party is one of the 14 members in the ruling National Front coalition.

Party president Yong Teck Lee told reporters Wednesday that his party had lost confidence in Abdullah's leadership.

The announcement is the biggest blow yet to Abdullah, who has been fighting off fierce criticisms and calls to step down after the Front suffered major losses during March 8 elections.

The coalition lost five out of 13 states to the opposition and were denied a two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time in history.

Yong, who made the announcement in Sabah's capital Kota Kinabalu, said the party's two lawmakers will either introduce the motion or allow the opposition to do so on Monday.

On Friday, Prime Minister Abdullah said he has decided on a time to hand over power to his deputy, but did not name a date. (dpa)