Mahathir plans tour to fix possible election date
Mahathir plans tour to fix possible election date
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian Premier Mahathir Mohamad is to
embark on a nationwide tour after revamping his cabinet in a bid
to gauge public sentiment and fix a possible election date, party
insiders and analysts said on Sunday.
"One of the main agenda items on the tour will be to gauge
public response for a possible election date," a senior official
from the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) told
AFP.
Beset by political troubles following his September sacking of
his deputy Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir said on Saturday he would
begin his tour at the end of the Moslem fasting month of Ramadhan
from Jan. 20.
Analysts have said Mahathir, who is also president of UMNO,
the dominant political party in the ruling National Front
coalition, is unlikely to chance letting his government complete
its term as scheduled in April 2000, given the uncertainties
clouding the economy and the region.
Mahathir, the country's aging 73-year-old premier will tour
the country to explain the political situation after his cabinet
revamp, in which he finally named a deputy to replace Anwar and
relinquished two key cabinet posts.
"That is why I eased my burden so that I can explain to the
people about the political situation," The Sunday Star newspaper
quoted the premier as saying.
Mahathir also said party elections would be held after the
general election. "We have 18 months and the last day of
parliament is not for another 16 months."
Opposition parties and street demonstrators have called for
the resignation of Mahathir, who has been in power since 1981,
following Anwar's sacking and arrest.
Initially held under internal security laws, Anwar, 51, was
then charged with 10 counts of corruption and sexual misconduct,
which he has denied alleging they were the result of a high-level
conspiracy against him. His trial on four charges resumes on
Monday.
The party insider who spoke on condition of anonymity said
Mahathir would try to whip up confidence among grass root party
members who seem to be in a state of confusion amid the Anwar
scandal.
"The people are confused over the Anwar issue and also matters
about the state of the economy," he added.
Rustam Sani, a political analyst, told AFP Mahathir's tour
would have several aims, including to detect the public's mood in
particular among the rural community which is the traditional
power base of UMNO.
"It is possible that he will attempt to assess public support
and decide on an election date," he said.
"Mahathir will try to find out whether UMNO chiefs at state
level are loyal to the new cabinet line-up," he added.
After a damning report last week blamed police for a beating
Anwar received in police custody in September leading to the
resignation of the inspector general of police, Mahathir moved to
reassert control with a cabinet revamp which put loyalists in key
posts and filled a political vacuum left by Anwar's sacking.
The premier, under pressure to name a deputy and relinquish
the home ministry, named Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
59, to both positions in a weekend reshuffle that caught the
country by surprise.
A power gap emerged in UMNO after the departure of Anwar, who
headed a large faction in the party.
Abdullah said on Sunday he hoped he would not "disappoint" the
people as he takes over his country's scandal-tainted number two
job.
"God willing, I hope I will not disappoint the people,"
Abdullah said on the eve of assuming the post Monday as deputy
prime minister.
A senior UMNO official said Abdullah faced a difficult task.
The official told AFP that Abdullah's main responsibilities
included explaining the country's economic woes to the people,
restoring public confidence in the police and scouting for
candidates for the elections.
Rustam said the opposition Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS), which
rules the northern state of Kelantan has been making inroads into
traditional UMNO heartland amid the Anwar saga and was causing
some concern among party members.