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.