Malaysia Prime Minister to Step Down Next March

Malaysia’s Prime Minister announced he will not defend his presidency in the forthcoming UMNO party election next March.
Malaysia Prime Minister to Step Down Next March
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (R) smiles while his Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak looks on before the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) supreme council special meeting in Kuala Lumpur. (Kamarul Akhir/AFP/Getty Images)
10/9/2008
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/mlys.jpg" alt="Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (R) smiles while his Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak looks on before the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) supreme council special meeting in Kuala Lumpur.  (Kamarul Akhir/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (R) smiles while his Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak looks on before the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) supreme council special meeting in Kuala Lumpur.  (Kamarul Akhir/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1833431"/></a>
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (R) smiles while his Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak looks on before the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) supreme council special meeting in Kuala Lumpur.  (Kamarul Akhir/AFP/Getty Images)

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced he will not defend his presidency in the forthcoming United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party election next March, an implication that he will also step down as prime minister earlier than the original plan. Abdullah announced this decision in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

UMNO is the main ruling party of the Barisan National Coalition (BN) in Malaysia. Throughout  51 years of BN’s rule, the UMNO leader has by tradition. become prime minister to head the BN government.

Abdullah emphasized that he will stay on as prime minister until next March.  He said he intended to see the implementation of several initiatives before leaving the office, such as judiciary reform, an anti-corruption Bill, and the special complaints commission to revamp the police force. 

“I know I’ve not been doing well; it’s time for someone else to take over,” Abdullah said.
Abdullah also explained his early exit is because he does not want a divided party and governing coalition.

“I would like to see the Government and BN renew their commitment towards building a united and harmonious nation. Society has seen an alarming decline in interracial and inter-religious relations.

“I will convene a BN convention early next year. This is a long-term effort that I hope to kick-start and continue to contribute towards,” he said after announcing his remaining initiatives to the media.

Abdullah said he would discuss handing over the prime minister’s post to his current Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak after the UMNO elections. He said he would not pick a deputy for Najib.

On March 8, 2008, also known as the day of political tsunami, BN suffered an unprecedented loss of a two-thirds majority in the Parliament and the administration of five states (out of thirteen states). The opposition parties were surprised at such political gains, and an opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR or People’s Pact) was formed on April 1, 2008, which many deem as the beginning of an era of two-party politics. 

The opposition coalition is led by Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister, who was ousted by his mentor Mahathir through corruption and the highly controversial sodomy charges.  Anwar has since managed to cause panic within BN by claiming that he has sufficient numbers of Members of Parliament (MP) to form a new government. 

Abdullah was pressured to announce an early transition of power, which was initially set for June 2010.  However, many leaders within the party voiced dissatisfaction over the length of the transition.
Under immense pressure within his party, Abdullah was forced to announce giving up his UMNO presidency by March 2009, to facilitate an early transition of power to his successor Najib.