Abdullah uses no dirty tactics

V.K. Chin, The Star, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should be encouraged by the strong support he received after his appointment as the nation's fifth Prime Minister succeeding Mahathir Mohamad who resigned on Oct. 31 after holding the post for 22 years.

The people are happy that at least a person of proven integrity, friendly and nice, can also make it to the highest political office in the land.

At the same time, Pak Lah as he is fondly known, did not resort to using dirty tactics or money politics to reach his present exalted political position.

In fact, he was a victim of money politics and his refusal to indulge in it resulted in a temporary setback in his political and government career, which he accepted without bitterness and animosity.

Instead of feeling angry with the system or the world, Pak Lah spent several years in the political wilderness and never gave up hope in the system or his supporters, who stuck with him in spite of his setback.

The overwhelmingly favorable response to his appointment is that he has been around for a long time and is therefore well known and liked by many as he has few enemies, if any, to speak of.

He is such a decent person that he will not go out of his way to offend anyone and believes in being friends with all, even those who consider him as a political threat.

This track record is now being recognized by the people and there must be few politicians who have received such a public acknowledgement on their appointment.

Pak Lah is actually a role model for his colleagues and all budding politicians to follow. He has shown that they can all make it without having to be nasty or a back-stabber.

This public endorsement was further strengthened following Pak Lah's policy statements and remarks in the days after his appointment, which struck a chord with the aspirations of the people on what should be done to move the nation forward.

His strong statements on an efficient government machinery and the need to step up the war on corruption, in particular, were well received by the public as the people in general feel that they have not been properly served due to these faults within the system.

An inefficient machinery leads to red tape and allows malpractice to rear its ugly head as those seeking services in the various government agencies feel that they must pay in order to speed up approvals for their applications.

As this has been going on unchecked for a number of years, corruption in the civil service has become very well entrenched and it will take some effort to get rid of it.

The regrettable fact is that some of the corrupt government employees have regarded money obtained illegally as part of their overall income and will therefore try their best to keep this unhealthy practice going for as long as possible.