Mahathir plans tour to fix possible election date<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian Premier Mahathir Mohamad is to
\nembark on a nationwide tour after revamping his cabinet in a bid
\nto gauge public sentiment and fix a possible election date, party
\ninsiders and analysts said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\"One of the main agenda items on the tour will be to gauge
\npublic response for a possible election date,\" a senior official
\nfrom the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) told
\nAFP.<\/p>\n
Beset by political troubles following his September sacking of
\nhis deputy Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir said on Saturday he would
\nbegin his tour at the end of the Moslem fasting month of Ramadhan
\nfrom Jan. 20.<\/p>\n
Analysts have said Mahathir, who is also president of UMNO,
\nthe dominant political party in the ruling National Front
\ncoalition, is unlikely to chance letting his government complete
\nits term as scheduled in April 2000, given the uncertainties
\nclouding the economy and the region.<\/p>\n
Mahathir, the country's aging 73-year-old premier will tour
\nthe country to explain the political situation after his cabinet
\nrevamp, in which he finally named a deputy to replace Anwar and
\nrelinquished two key cabinet posts.<\/p>\n
\"That is why I eased my burden so that I can explain to the
\npeople about the political situation,\" The Sunday Star newspaper
\nquoted the premier as saying.<\/p>\n
Mahathir also said party elections would be held after the
\ngeneral election. \"We have 18 months and the last day of
\nparliament is not for another 16 months.\"<\/p>\n
Opposition parties and street demonstrators have called for
\nthe resignation of Mahathir, who has been in power since 1981,
\nfollowing Anwar's sacking and arrest.<\/p>\n
Initially held under internal security laws, Anwar, 51, was
\nthen charged with 10 counts of corruption and sexual misconduct,
\nwhich he has denied alleging they were the result of a high-level
\nconspiracy against him. His trial on four charges resumes on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
The party insider who spoke on condition of anonymity said
\nMahathir would try to whip up confidence among grass root party
\nmembers who seem to be in a state of confusion amid the Anwar
\nscandal.<\/p>\n
\"The people are confused over the Anwar issue and also matters
\nabout the state of the economy,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Rustam Sani, a political analyst, told AFP Mahathir's tour
\nwould have several aims, including to detect the public's mood in
\nparticular among the rural community which is the traditional
\npower base of UMNO.<\/p>\n
\"It is possible that he will attempt to assess public support
\nand decide on an election date,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Mahathir will try to find out whether UMNO chiefs at state
\nlevel are loyal to the new cabinet line-up,\" he added.<\/p>\n
After a damning report last week blamed police for a beating
\nAnwar received in police custody in September leading to the
\nresignation of the inspector general of police, Mahathir moved to
\nreassert control with a cabinet revamp which put loyalists in key
\nposts and filled a political vacuum left by Anwar's sacking.<\/p>\n
The premier, under pressure to name a deputy and relinquish
\nthe home ministry, named Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
\n59, to both positions in a weekend reshuffle that caught the
\ncountry by surprise.<\/p>\n
A power gap emerged in UMNO after the departure of Anwar, who
\nheaded a large faction in the party.<\/p>\n
Abdullah said on Sunday he hoped he would not \"disappoint\" the
\npeople as he takes over his country's scandal-tainted number two
\njob.<\/p>\n
\"God willing, I hope I will not disappoint the people,\"
\nAbdullah said on the eve of assuming the post Monday as deputy
\nprime minister.<\/p>\n
A senior UMNO official said Abdullah faced a difficult task.<\/p>\n
The official told AFP that Abdullah's main responsibilities
\nincluded explaining the country's economic woes to the people,
\nrestoring public confidence in the police and scouting for
\ncandidates for the elections.<\/p>\n
Rustam said the opposition Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS), which
\nrules the northern state of Kelantan has been making inroads into
\ntraditional UMNO heartland amid the Anwar saga and was causing
\nsome concern among party members.<\/p>",
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