Malaysian PM Badwai to quit

by Nksagar | June 13, 2008 at 07:58 pm

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14 June:2008

Malaysian PM to Quit:

Malaysian Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi agreed on a plan to hand over power to his
deputy, taking full responsibility for the disastrous election results Badwai said on friday that he and his deputy Najib Razak have decided on the "right time for me to hand over the premierhip to him",but did not divulge any details.The
Prime Minister assured party officials at a private meeting on Friday
that he would discuss a succession plan with his deputy Najib Razak, a
party official was quoted:

Badawi
said some officials in the ruling United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO) party had asked him to accept responsibility for
the ruling coalition's poor performance in general elections in March.

"There
have been demands. I feel I am the reason for the spoiled votes for the
(ruling coalition) and I feel responsible to do what's best to
rehabilitate the government," he said.

Reiterating
that he and Najib enjoyed good working relations, Badawi said they have
mutually agreed on the "best time" for a leadership transition.

"The leadership change will definitely take place at the right time," he said.

Consumer
Affairs Minister Shahrir Samad said details of how and when Abdullah
will hand over power would be finalised after the UMNO holds its annual
congress in December.

Najib said in London
on Thursday that he would not challenge Badawi for power because as a
"true Umno man" he would not risk destroying the party his father had
built.

Earlier,
Badawi had rejected plans to relinquish power saying he could discuss a
transition only after the December internal leadership polls.

Badawi,
who took office in October 2003, suffered setbacks when his party lost
two-thirds majority in Parliament as well as control of five state
legislatures following massive anti-government protest.

He
said he wanted to remain in power for a while longer to try and resolve
public grievances about issues such as corruption, crime and racial
disputes.

"I have to discharge my duties and I feel duty-bound to ensure that all problems are resolved. That is the priority," he said.

Badawi also said that people should stop speculating on his relationship with Najib as such talk was of no benefit to anyone.

"It's
important for everyone to see the relationship between me and Najib as
very crucial to strengthen UMNO and the government and to implement the
development projects and programmes that have been planned," he said.

"Najib
and I have decided on the right time for me to hand over the
premiership to him. We've no problems and we enjoy good working
relations," Badawi said.

International
Trade Minister Muhyiddin indicated that no deadline has been set for
Badawi to step down, saying "the period of transition and so on were
not mentioned in detail" during today's talks.