Malaysia's PM-in-waiting spells out policies<\/p>\n
Hazlin Hassan, Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Malaysia's prime-minister-in-waiting, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has
\ngiven the first detailed insight into how he plans to run the
\ncountry when he takes over from veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad
\nnext October.<\/p>\n
His style might be different to Mahathir's but the political
\nsubstance would be the same, Abdullah, 62, said in an interview
\non national television on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
That would mean a business-friendly government, privatization,
\neconomic growth with equitable distribution, power-sharing in
\ngovernment and national unity, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I can't imitate Mahathir's style. He has his own style. I
\nwill have mine. But the objectives will be the same.\"<\/p>\n
Mahathir, 76, who has been in power for 21 years, announced in
\nJune that he would step down in October 2003 and named Abdullah,
\nhis deputy, as his successor.<\/p>\n
One of the key issues confronting Abdullah when he takes over
\nthe reins will be the role of Islam in the government of this
\nmulticultural country, where Chinese and Indian minorities make
\nup more than a third of the population.<\/p>\n
The biggest challenge to the ruling United Malays National
\nOrganization (UMNO) for the votes of the Malay Muslim majority
\ncomes from the hardline Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), which wants
\na theocratic state complete with Sharia laws including amputation
\nfor theft and stoning to death for adultery.<\/p>\n
Abdullah said he took the threat from PAS very seriously as it
\nalready controlled two out of 13 state governments and was trying
\nto exploit Islam for political gain.<\/p>\n
\"Any tendency toward exploiting Islam in ways that can make
\nthe Malays extreme can also spell a lot of problems for a
\nmultiracial country like Malaysia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Malaysia would not \"support, tolerate, or compromise any form
\nof terrorism or extremism that is based on ethnicity or
\nreligion.\"<\/p>\n
The government would continue to promote Islam as a religion
\nof peace, progress and prosperity, and any extremist groups
\nresorting to unlawful means \"will be dealt with.\"<\/p>\n
As home minister, a post he holds at the same time as being
\ndeputy prime minister, Abdullah has signed detention orders for
\nmore than 70 alleged religious militants over the past year.<\/p>\n
Asked what he thought about having been labeled \"Mr Nice Guy\"
\nduring his time in politics, he said: \"They said I am a nice man
\nbut later on, after I've detained a few people, they say that Mr
\nNice Man is not so nice any more.\"<\/p>\n
Abdullah was appointed deputy premier in February 1999 to
\nreplace Mahathir's charismatic former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, who
\nwas sacked and jailed in September 1998 on sex and corruption
\ncharges.<\/p>\n
He joined the civil service in the 1960s and, after catching
\nthe eye of UMNO leaders, became a member of parliament in 1978 in
\nthe Kepala Batas constituency in northern Penang state.<\/p>\n
He went on to hold the education, defense and foreign ministry
\nportfolios. He is married to Endon Mahmood and they have two
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
He has strong Islamic credentials, having majored in Islamic
\nstudies at University Malaya.<\/p>",
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