MANILA, Jan 18 (AFP) - Malaysian opposition leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said on Tuesday true democracy had yet to arrive in her country, citing alleged gerrymandering in last year's elections and attacks on the press.

Addressing an international women's conference in Manila, Azizah, the wife of detained former Malaysian deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, also attacked the arrests of leading Malayasian opposition figures.

"Their crime was that they made statements pertaining to certain events that did not agree with the official view," she said.

Azizah, who won a seat in the Malaysian parliament in November, said while 700,000 citizens were registered to vote in that election, they were not listed in the official gazette and denied the right to cast their ballots.

"The election was gerrymanderred to favour the ruling party."

"A gerrymandered election does not make for a democracy," she said, adding "democracy cannot survive without a free press. It is dead if the press is engineered to be submissive."

She also called for "fairness and a level playing field" as well as a "credible and independent judiciary" as "without these supports, democracy is hollow ... a convenient tool of manipulation for ruthless and crafty politicians.

"It gives them an air of legitimacy in their authoritarian rule. Indeed, democracy then becomes a virtual tyranny," she said.

Her statements came after the arrests of five opposition figures including Karpal Singh, counsel for her jailed husband and Marina Yusoff, vice-president of Azizah's National Justice Party.

They were charged with sedition along with Zulkifli Sulong, editor of the Harakah newspaper owned by the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia, and its publisher Chia Lim.

Anwar's former aide Mohamad Ezam Mohamad Nor, the party's youth chief, was charged under the Official Secrets Act with possession of classified documents. All five are free on bail.

Azizah said while she was trying to garner international support for her opposition campaign, this was also "used by the government of our country to say it's foreign interference" in Malaysia's affairs.

Despite the dawn of a new millennium, "for (Myanmar opposition leader) Aung San Suu Kyi, the first day of the millennium was just another day of freedom denied. For Anwar Ibrahim, it was just another day in incarceration," she said.

Asked if she thought Malaysia was ready for a female prime minister, Azizah said "in my bones, (I feel) they are not really ready yet. The male dominance is just too strong. But we are making our mark."On Monday, Azizah paid a courtesy call on Philippine President Joseph Estrada, but would not say if she relayed any message from Anwar to Estrada.