Malaysia's PM-in-waiting spells out policies

Malaysia's PM-in-waiting spells out policies

Hazlin Hassan, Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia's prime-minister-in-waiting, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has
given the first detailed insight into how he plans to run the
country when he takes over from veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad
next October.

His style might be different to Mahathir's but the political
substance would be the same, Abdullah, 62, said in an interview
on national television on Tuesday night.

That would mean a business-friendly government, privatization,
economic growth with equitable distribution, power-sharing in
government and national unity, he said.

"I can't imitate Mahathir's style. He has his own style. I
will have mine. But the objectives will be the same."

Mahathir, 76, who has been in power for 21 years, announced in
June that he would step down in October 2003 and named Abdullah,
his deputy, as his successor.

One of the key issues confronting Abdullah when he takes over
the reins will be the role of Islam in the government of this
multicultural country, where Chinese and Indian minorities make
up more than a third of the population.

The biggest challenge to the ruling United Malays National
Organization (UMNO) for the votes of the Malay Muslim majority
comes from the hardline Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), which wants
a theocratic state complete with Sharia laws including amputation
for theft and stoning to death for adultery.

Abdullah said he took the threat from PAS very seriously as it
already controlled two out of 13 state governments and was trying
to exploit Islam for political gain.

"Any tendency toward exploiting Islam in ways that can make
the Malays extreme can also spell a lot of problems for a
multiracial country like Malaysia," he said.

Malaysia would not "support, tolerate, or compromise any form
of terrorism or extremism that is based on ethnicity or
religion."

The government would continue to promote Islam as a religion
of peace, progress and prosperity, and any extremist groups
resorting to unlawful means "will be dealt with."

As home minister, a post he holds at the same time as being
deputy prime minister, Abdullah has signed detention orders for
more than 70 alleged religious militants over the past year.

Asked what he thought about having been labeled "Mr Nice Guy"
during his time in politics, he said: "They said I am a nice man
but later on, after I've detained a few people, they say that Mr
Nice Man is not so nice any more."

Abdullah was appointed deputy premier in February 1999 to
replace Mahathir's charismatic former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, who
was sacked and jailed in September 1998 on sex and corruption
charges.

He joined the civil service in the 1960s and, after catching
the eye of UMNO leaders, became a member of parliament in 1978 in
the Kepala Batas constituency in northern Penang state.

He went on to hold the education, defense and foreign ministry
portfolios. He is married to Endon Mahmood and they have two
children.

He has strong Islamic credentials, having majored in Islamic
studies at University Malaya.