Abdullah on path of succession to Mahathir's job

Abdullah on path of succession to Mahathir's job

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Leaders of Malaysia's ruling party gave on
Monday their backing to Deputy Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as
the eventual successor to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad when
they fixed party elections for May 11.

Khalil Yaakob, secretary general of the United Malays National
Organization (UMNO), said its Supreme Council wanted Mahathir
renominated as party president and Abdullah nominated as deputy
president, with both posts to be uncontested.

"The Supreme Council unanimously agreed that the post of
president and deputy president will be uncontested," Khalil, who
is also information minister, told a press conference after the
council meeting.

"This means that the nomination of (Mahathir) as president and
(Abdullah) as deputy president will not be opposed."

Mahathir, who chaired the four-hour meeting, said the
council's decision was not a directive but merely advice to party
divisions.

By tradition the UMNO president and deputy president are also
prime minister and deputy premier. But the party deputy
presidency has been vacant since Mahathir sacked Anwar Ibrahim as
deputy premier in September 1998 and UMNO's Supreme Council
expelled Anwar.

The 74-year-old Mahathir said after winning a fifth term in
November general elections that this would be his last one.

Last month, he said he expected UMNO to back Abdullah as his
successor but Abdullah needs to be formally confirmed as party
deputy president.

Abdullah, 60, told reporters he was "very thankful" for the
support.
"This means there will be a lot of work," he joked.

Abdullah is now one of the three UMNO vice presidents and has
been performing the functions of the deputy president since
Anwar's fall from grace as heir apparent.

Mahathir said UMNO's annual general assembly would be held on
May 11-13, with elections for the leadership on the 11.

UMNO dominates the National Front coalition which has ruled
since independence in 1957. The National Front won 148 of 193
seats in the November 29 polls but UMNO took only 72 seats
compared to the 94 it held in the last parliament.

Abdullah backed a challenger for Mahathir's leadership in
1987. But he has been unflinchingly loyal since the premier
brought him back from the political wilderness eight years ago,
making him foreign minister.

In January 1999, after Anwar's downfall, he was named deputy
premier and home minister.

If Mahathir stays in office for a full five-year term,
Abdullah could still be challenged in a party leadership election
in 2003.

Hishammuddin Hussein, acting UMNO youth chief, told reporters
the no-contest decision would ensure "continuity of the country's
leadership."
"I hope our members will accept the decision openly," he said.

Sani Hamid, an analyst with Standard and Poor's MMS in
Singapore, said the move would "strengthen Abdullah's standing as
potential heir to the premier, although history has shown that
nothing is for certain.

"The skeptics will say that this is yet more evidence of the
PM holding on to power. But the counter-argument is that during
this period of economic recovery, the last thing people want is
political uncertainty," he added.

Abdul Razak Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian
Strategic Research Center, said the move "reinforced (Abdullah's)
position as the chosen successor."

He said the council's decision was to "avoid the possibility
of a further split in the party."

The premier also wanted to ensure a smooth transition when he
steps down and "doesn't want any upset" during party polls, Razak
added.

But Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the opposition Democratic
Action Party, said the move would "not lend legitimacy" to either
Mahathir or Abdullah, who would be the first unelected deputy
party president.

The manner in which Abdullah gains the number two post
"without the endorsement of UMNO's rank and file may prove to be
his undoing because he has no legitimacy whatsoever," Lim added.