ID :
53545
Thu, 04/02/2009 - 22:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/53545
The shortlink copeid
FOCUS: Malaysia's Abdullah steps down, leaves behind checkered legacy+
KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 Kyodo - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi officially stepped down Thursday, leaving behind for his successor Najib Abdul Razak a shaky economy, some half-hearted reforms, and a ruling party in danger of crumbling in the face of an ambitious opposition and a disenchanted electorate.
Abdullah formally handed over his resignation letter to the king, who consented
to his request. Najib will be sworn in as the country's sixth prime minister on
Friday.
In the meantime, as the nation looks back on the five-and-half-year rule of the
mild-mannered Abdullah, 69, the consensus seems to be that of a ''Mr. Nice
Guy'' whose administration was marked by, in his own admission, ''missed
opportunities.''
He was handpicked by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to replace him in
October 2003. Mahathir expected the pleasant, unambitious Abdullah to simply
continue what he had built over the 22 years he was in power.
But voters had wanted more. They looked to Abdullah to clean up Mahathir's two
decades of excess that has bred unfettered corruption and cronyism and to end
the practices that had stifled freedom and openness. They believed Abdullah's
promises of reforms and they gave him the biggest mandate ever in the 2004
general election.
But he could not undo the huge damage created by his predecessor-turned-bitter
nemesis. He caved in to the old guards of his ruling party, the United Malays
National Organization, a group who had been used to the patronage system and
easy access to government contracts and who feared reforms would only erode
UMNO's power.
And ironically while he espoused moderate Islam, he allowed the conservatives
to have the upper hand in a number of proclamations that spooked non-Malays,
such as banning Muslims from converting to other religions.
Abdullah also paid a heavy price for his indecisiveness -- policies took a long
time to be implemented and sometimes changed overnight. The blogging community
ridiculed him as ''Mr. Flip Flop.''
''He went from hero to zero,'' Wong Chun Wai, group chief editor of The Star
English daily, wrote in his Thursday column.
The general election in March 2008 was his Waterloo. Voters turned against him.
The opposition for the first time in 50 years broke the National Front (BN)
coalition's two-thirds majority in Parliament and won control of five states
out of 13. Previously they only had one state.
''It seemed the pent-up furies of an entire generation were released, and it
was natural that they would turn on the institutions that had held them at bay
for so long,'' senior writer Rehman Rashid wrote in an article accompanying the
New Straits Times' 20-page pull-out tribute to Abdullah on Thursday.
''Abdullah's final year as PM,'' he added, ''was a painful struggle to the
finish line, conducted with as much dignity as he could muster amid a morass of
fractured governance, political unrest and economic anxiety.''
''He had good programs,'' political commentator Abdullah Ahmad told Kyodo News,
''But he did not implement them. Only in his 'dying' days, when he was already
a lame duck, that he wanted to carry out his reforms.''
The New Straits Times listed three major reforms that Abdullah managed to push
through -- a more transparent system of judicial appointments, an
anti-corruption agency which has more bite and a law to protect whistle-blowers
which he viewed as important in combating graft.
Rita Sim, the deputy chairman of a think tank aligned with BN, credited
Abdullah for allowing greater freedom of expression.
''He has done well in opening up the space for discourse,'' she told Kyodo News.
Abdullah had already advised Najib to heed the change that has swept the
country as the electorate, living in the Internet age, is now more discerning
and informed.
''When I talk about democracy and freedom of discourse, it is not an easy job
to do. But you have to allow people to enjoy it,'' Abdullah told local media in
an interview on Tuesday. ''I think up to now, nobody can silence the papers
anymore...Scaring does not work.''
Abdullah, a graduate in Islamic studies in a local university, began his career
in public service in the mid-1960s. He was chosen by the country's second prime
minister, Abdul Razak Hussein, Najib's father, to be assistant secretary to the
powerful National Operations Council that was in charge of the country
following the suspension of parliament in the aftermath of the 1969 racial
riot.
An ardent admirer of Abdul Razak, Abdullah left government service in 1978 to
successfully run for public office. He was made full minister in 1981 and rose
to become the deputy to then Prime Minister Mahathir in 1999.
Abdullah has promised Najib he will not interfere in the new administration,
unlike Mahathir, who gave Abdullah a nightmare soon after he took over with his
incessant attacks over what he believed was Abdullah's attempt to undermine his
legacy.
Abdullah has said he intends to retire to a life of gardening with his wife.
Abdullah formally handed over his resignation letter to the king, who consented
to his request. Najib will be sworn in as the country's sixth prime minister on
Friday.
In the meantime, as the nation looks back on the five-and-half-year rule of the
mild-mannered Abdullah, 69, the consensus seems to be that of a ''Mr. Nice
Guy'' whose administration was marked by, in his own admission, ''missed
opportunities.''
He was handpicked by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to replace him in
October 2003. Mahathir expected the pleasant, unambitious Abdullah to simply
continue what he had built over the 22 years he was in power.
But voters had wanted more. They looked to Abdullah to clean up Mahathir's two
decades of excess that has bred unfettered corruption and cronyism and to end
the practices that had stifled freedom and openness. They believed Abdullah's
promises of reforms and they gave him the biggest mandate ever in the 2004
general election.
But he could not undo the huge damage created by his predecessor-turned-bitter
nemesis. He caved in to the old guards of his ruling party, the United Malays
National Organization, a group who had been used to the patronage system and
easy access to government contracts and who feared reforms would only erode
UMNO's power.
And ironically while he espoused moderate Islam, he allowed the conservatives
to have the upper hand in a number of proclamations that spooked non-Malays,
such as banning Muslims from converting to other religions.
Abdullah also paid a heavy price for his indecisiveness -- policies took a long
time to be implemented and sometimes changed overnight. The blogging community
ridiculed him as ''Mr. Flip Flop.''
''He went from hero to zero,'' Wong Chun Wai, group chief editor of The Star
English daily, wrote in his Thursday column.
The general election in March 2008 was his Waterloo. Voters turned against him.
The opposition for the first time in 50 years broke the National Front (BN)
coalition's two-thirds majority in Parliament and won control of five states
out of 13. Previously they only had one state.
''It seemed the pent-up furies of an entire generation were released, and it
was natural that they would turn on the institutions that had held them at bay
for so long,'' senior writer Rehman Rashid wrote in an article accompanying the
New Straits Times' 20-page pull-out tribute to Abdullah on Thursday.
''Abdullah's final year as PM,'' he added, ''was a painful struggle to the
finish line, conducted with as much dignity as he could muster amid a morass of
fractured governance, political unrest and economic anxiety.''
''He had good programs,'' political commentator Abdullah Ahmad told Kyodo News,
''But he did not implement them. Only in his 'dying' days, when he was already
a lame duck, that he wanted to carry out his reforms.''
The New Straits Times listed three major reforms that Abdullah managed to push
through -- a more transparent system of judicial appointments, an
anti-corruption agency which has more bite and a law to protect whistle-blowers
which he viewed as important in combating graft.
Rita Sim, the deputy chairman of a think tank aligned with BN, credited
Abdullah for allowing greater freedom of expression.
''He has done well in opening up the space for discourse,'' she told Kyodo News.
Abdullah had already advised Najib to heed the change that has swept the
country as the electorate, living in the Internet age, is now more discerning
and informed.
''When I talk about democracy and freedom of discourse, it is not an easy job
to do. But you have to allow people to enjoy it,'' Abdullah told local media in
an interview on Tuesday. ''I think up to now, nobody can silence the papers
anymore...Scaring does not work.''
Abdullah, a graduate in Islamic studies in a local university, began his career
in public service in the mid-1960s. He was chosen by the country's second prime
minister, Abdul Razak Hussein, Najib's father, to be assistant secretary to the
powerful National Operations Council that was in charge of the country
following the suspension of parliament in the aftermath of the 1969 racial
riot.
An ardent admirer of Abdul Razak, Abdullah left government service in 1978 to
successfully run for public office. He was made full minister in 1981 and rose
to become the deputy to then Prime Minister Mahathir in 1999.
Abdullah has promised Najib he will not interfere in the new administration,
unlike Mahathir, who gave Abdullah a nightmare soon after he took over with his
incessant attacks over what he believed was Abdullah's attempt to undermine his
legacy.
Abdullah has said he intends to retire to a life of gardening with his wife.
