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At right time, Abdullah agree on handover |
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Yousef aljoneidi - AlJazeeraTalk - Malaysia
 Abdullah Badawi the Malaysian Prime Minister and his deputy, Najib Razak, have agreed on the proper timing for a leadership change.
Abdullah has been under pressure to resign from his post after the governing Barisan Nasional's dismal election performance in the general elections in March. For Brisan Nasional, the last election carries its worst results in 40 years, losing its two-thirds majority in the federal parliament and control of several states. The election was widely seen as a referendum on the rule of Abdullah.
The pressure increased after former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced his withdrawal from United Malays National Organization (UMNO). He further urged UMNO members including elected representatives to quit as one group to show no confidence in Abdullah’s leadership.
Following Dr Mahathir’s decision, some of UMNO members quit too. Sanusi Junid, the former UMNO secretary-general, recently said he was leaving UMNO in support of former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Sanusi was removed as the president of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) last month - two years before completing his term. Some analysts expect that Sanusi removal was the consequence of his decision to leave UMNO.
After all these crises and under all these pressures Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister, said: he has reached an agreement with his deputy, Najib Razak, upon the time of a leadership change. "Najib and I have decided on the right time for me to hand over premiership to him. We have no problems and we enjoy good working relations," he added "The leadership change will definitely take place at the right time. 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 programs that have been planned," Abdullah said.
On the other side, the deputy Prime Minister Najib said in London that he would not challenge Abdullah for power because as a "true UMNO man" he would not risk destroying the party his father had built. Added, he was a loyal party member who subscribed to an orderly leadership change, as has been the UMNO convention.
Abdullah urged UMNO’s supporters, who worry about the party situation, not to be deterred by the results of the last general election, but continue to soldier on."As fighters, we should not give up or be frustrated in pursuing our struggle for the race and religion. The term 'disappointment' should not be in the warrior's dictionary.” He added "its taboo for warriors to retreat before surrendering. Warriors must continue to soldier on. If you have already surrendered, there is no point in fighting; just wait to die. "
In analyses view, it’s very difficult at these times for Umno to return especially after the governing Barisan Nasional's dismal election performance in the general elections in March. But the prime minister said he was confident that Umno would re-emerge as a strong party."I believe we can recover and return to our original strength. There are times we lose some seats and currently many people are angry but this will not be forever," he said.
After this agreement between Abdullah, the current Prime Minister, and his deputy, Najib Razak, Abdullah sees that he has to calm his supporters after he agreed on handover, said that he would not do anything that could harm Umno. "I will not let Umno be divided. In the north (of Peninsular Malaysia), Umno was founded by my father and grandfather."
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