ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI

'Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi' (born 26 November 1939 in Kepala Batas, Penang) is the Prime Minister of Malaysia.[1] Prime Minister Abdullah is also the President of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest political party in Malaysia, and leads the governing Barisan Nasional Parliamentary coalition. He is informally known as Pak Lah. He succeeded Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad.
After Mahathir sacked Anwar Ibrahim he appointed Abdullah Deputy Prime Minister. Abdullah succeeded Mahathir as Prime Minister in 2003. Abdullah's administration has been characterized by controversies concerning the independence of Parliament and the reduction of fuel subsidies. Although Abdullah initially pledged to eradicate political corruption, which some critics felt had plagued Mahathir's premiership, it has been argued that after Abdullah's victory in the 2004 general election, progress in fighting corruption and cronyism significantly eroded.
In 2005 Mahathir began challenging Abdullah on a number of issues, such as the protection of Proton, the flagship national car manufacturer, and the distribution of 'approved permits' for importing foreign-manufactured vehicles. Later in 2006, Mahathir asserted that Abdullah had betrayed his trust, citing the projects and policies which Mahathir introduced but Abdullah scrapped, such as the construction of a bridge linking Malaysia and Singapore which would replace the existing causeway.

Contents

Premiership

Family

Economic policies

Controversies

References

External links

Premiership

Since coming into power as prime minister, Abdullah has promised to clamp down on corruption, giving more power to anti-corruption agencies and making it easier for the public to reveal corrupt practices to the authorities. He has also arrested several public figures from the Mahathir era on charges of corruption, a move which was widely applauded by the public. He has advocated an interpretation of Islam known as Islam Hadhari, which maintains that Islam and economic and technological development are not incompatible. Apart from that, his administration has been emphasizing a revival of the Malaysian agricultural sector.

In the eleventh 2004 general election, Abdullah's first election as the incumbent prime minister, he delivered a stunning victory for his party's coalition Barisan Nasional (of which UMNO is the dominant party) by winning 198 out of 220 seats in parliament, and wrested control of the Terengganu state government back from the Islamist opposition Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), as well as coming close to capturing the traditional PAS stronghold of Kelantan. The victory was widely regarded as an approval of his vision of moderate Islam over religious fundamentalism, and support for his anti-corruption policies.
In September 2004, upon his release from prison, Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister jailed since 1999 by former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, publicly credited Abdullah for not interfering with the judiciary's overturning of his sodomy conviction.
On September 10, 2004, Abdullah, as finance minister, tabled his maiden budget, which is seen by the public as being more consolidation and maintenance-oriented as opposed to the growth policies emphasised by Mahathir.
Abdullah is also known for stressing on Malaysia's internal security, after witnessing an increase in corruptive practices, such as bribery in the police force.
Abdullah is unofficially known in Malay circles in Malaysia as ''Pak Lah'' (Malay diminutive for "Uncle Abdullah"). The Malaysian government has issued a statement that the prime minister should not be referred to by this nickname in official articles and in newsprint; however, the nickname is still used informally. In fact, Abdullah himself often uses the nickname to refer to himself in public gatherings.
Abdullah continues to be heavily involved in foreign policy. He is the chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, since he became prime minister in 2003. As of 2005, he is also the chairman of ASEAN. He also served as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement from October 2003 until September 2006.
Concerning the giving up of North Korea´s nuclear weapon and missile tests he is sceptical because they are something precious to the country. It will be very difficult to stop these actions. APEC calls on N. Korea to end nuclear initiative
'50th Anniversary'
On August 31, 2007, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi shouted 'Independence!' on midnight celebrations, where thousands of Malaysians celebrated at Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur, 50 years of nationhood.^[1]

Family

On October 20 2005, Abdullah's wife, Endon Mahmood, died from breast cancer. Endon discovered she had breast cancer in 2003 while her twin sister Noraini who had earlier been diagnosed with the disease died in January 2003. She received treatment in the United States and returned to Malaysia 18 days before her death. She is buried at the Muslim cemetery, at Taman Selatan, Precinct 20, Putrajaya.
On June 6 2007, the Prime Minister's office announced his marriage to Jeanne Abdullah. On June 9, a private ceremony was conducted at the prime minister's residence, Seri Perdana, attended by close relatives. Jeanne was formerly married to the younger brother of Abdullah's late wife. She was also a manager at the Seri Perdana residential complex and has two children from her previous marriage.^[2] Earlier in March that year, the premier dismissed rumours about his plans to remarry.

Economic policies

Abdullah declared an end to the economic legacy and grandiose projects of his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, during the 57th UMNO General Assembly. He told delegates that he would not pursue the economic strategies adopted two decades earlier by Mahathir.
He said in the past, wealth was generated not by innovation and creativity, but by foreign investment, government contracts and privatization.
Agriculture and biotechnology are some of the highlighted issues in 9MP that the government believes such sectors are still able to generate wealth for many Malaysians, especially those in rural areas.
Under the Mahathir era, the country turned rapidly from an agriculture base economy to an industrialised and manufacturing base. As a result of the turnover, agriculture was sidelined and mega-projects such as Perwaja Steel manufacturing and Bakun dam were mishandled and failed. Petronas which see itself as the most profitable company announced every year should be able to purchase the falling National car company Proton and MAS airlines.
Under the Abdullah administration, the country is moving up to a value chain economy by developing its inherent strengths in agriculture without losing its existing manufacturing base. 1

Controversies

After moves to charge prominent figures such as Eric Chia and Isa Abdul Samad with corruption, Abdullah's administration's efforts to combat corruption became significantly less public. It is disputed as to whether Abdullah is continuing to fight corruption quietly, or has intentionally slowed progress in reducing corruption.
In 2005, it was alleged that under Abdullah's administration, there had been a significant increase in cases of cronyism regarding the distribution of import permits for foreign-manufactured vehicles. Mahathir, Abdullah's predecessor, called for an investigation of the issue. Later, Mahathir criticised Abdullah for cancelling a number of development projects that Mahathir had backed, such as the construction of a bridge to replace the causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore.The velvet gloves come off Malaysia Today Mahathir also alleged that Abdullah had originally offered to permit the Singaporean Air Force to fly over Malaysian territory and sell sand to Singapore in exchange for an agreement on constructing the bridge. Mahathir construed this as an instance of "selling" Malaysian sovereignty.
In 2006, Mahathir stepped up his criticism of Abdullah, alleging that freedom of the press under Abdullah had actually decreased, alleging that the media refused to publish Mahathir's comments. . He also accused Abdullah of reneging on promises he made to Mahathir related to government policies, and in his strongest criticism thus far, said in June 2006 that Abdullah had betrayed his trust. Mahathir expressed regret in selecting Abdullah as his successor, and said that he had originally intended for Abdullah's deputy — Najib Tun Razak — to succeed him. Najib, who was on a state visit to India at the time, immediately expressed unreserved support for Abdullah.What Mahathir is so mad about Malaysia TodayHas Dr M gone too far this time? Malaysia Today
Even though Abdullah claimed that he is open to any comments or critics to help improving his administration, he actually only accepts positive remarks and never accepts negative remarks towards his administration. This has been proven in a high-profile case when Mukhriz Mahathir was warned by both UMNO and Abdullah for criticizing Abdullah's economic policies during the 2006 UMNO General Meeting.Mukhriz dikecam gara-gara kritik ucapan Pak Lah mSTAR Online He even attempts to control underground resources such as Web pages, forums and blogs, assuming those who criticize him via these media as "the people without credibility."Media Perdana vs Media Maya MyKMU.net - Gerbang Tempur Maya
Recently (as of October 2006), Mahathir accused Abdullah of having developed a habit of lying. 70 Dalil Pak Lah hilang kelayakan memimpin negara (PDF document) Malaysia Today It is due to the fact that Abdullah was reported as having problems of making essential decisions, therefore he often faces problems if any of his decisions have sparked controversies among Malaysians, such as his decisions about the cancellation of the bridge which was supposed to replace the Johor-Singapore Causeway. In his decisions, he often use the word ''rakyat'' (people), assuming that all Malaysians support all his decisions, regardless on how good or bad the results will be.
Other critics who contrast Abdullah's administration with Mahathir's suggest that Mahathir was more successful at managing "to keep harmony among Malaysia's ethnicities".Not the Retiring Type TIME Magazine

References

1. BBC NEWS, Malaysia marks 50 years as nation
2. Prime Minister To Wed Jeanne Abdullah Saturday

External links

★ Official Website

★ Profile from Official Website

★ Profile: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

★ The loyal Abdullah wins his rival Anwar's job