Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
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| Order: | 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Term of Office: | October 31, 2003 - present |
| Date of Birth: | November 26, 1939 |
| Place of Birth | Kepala Batas, Penang |
| Wife | Endon Mahmood Ambak (deceased) |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Religion | Islam |
| Political Party: | Barisan Nasional-UMNO |
| Deputy PM: | Najib Tun Razak (2003-) |
After Mahathir sacked Anwar Ibrahim he appointed Abdullah, originally politically exiled after clashing with Mahathir in an internal UMNO dispute during the 1980s, Deputy Prime Minister. Abdullah succeeded Mahathir as Prime Minister in 2003. Abdullah's administration has been characterized by controversies concerning the independence of Parliament and the reduction of fuel subsidies. Although Abdullah initially pledged to eradicate political corruption, which some critics felt had plagued Mahathir's premiership, it has been argued that after Abdullah's victory in the 2004 general election, progress in fighting corruption and cronyism significantly eroded.
In 2005 Mahathir began challenging Abdullah on a number of issues, such as the protection of Proton, the flagship national car manufacturer, and the distribution of approved permits for importing foreign-manufactured vehicles. Later in 2006, Mahathir asserted that Abdullah had betrayed his trust, citing the projects and policies which Mahathir introduced but Abdullah scrapped, such as the construction of a bridge linking Malaysia and Singapore which would replace the existing causeway.
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[edit] Early political career
Abdullah was born to a prominent religious family. His father, Ahmad Badawi, was a prominent religious figure and UMNO member.
Abdullah is a former student of Bukit Mertajam High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies from the University of Malaya in 1964, having originally wished to pursue a degree in Economics but failing to meet the required standard after failing his statistics paper.<ref name=FAILING>YAB Prime Minister's Interview with CNN Talk Asia, June 5th 2004 CNN</ref>
After graduation, he joined the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Corps (the formal term for the civil service). He served as Director of Youth at the Ministry of Youth and Sport as well as secretary of the National Emergency Council (MAGERAN). He resigned in 1978 to become the member of parliament for his constituency of Kepala Batas in northern Seberang Perai (which had also been represented by his late father), which he still represents today.
Early during Mahathir's tenure as prime minister, a bitter dispute erupted within the ruling UMNO party and it was divided into two camps, which were colloquially known as 'Team A' comprising Mahathir loyalists, and 'Team B', which supported former Minister of Finance Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and former Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam. Mahathir prevailed, leading to the exclusion of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah from the newly-established UMNO (Baru) or New UMNO. Abdullah was a close supporter of his political mentor Musa Hitam in Team B and as a result, he was sacked from his post of Minister of Defence in the cabinet. He did not join Semangat 46 (Spirit 46) party which was setted up by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Semangat 46 is now defunct.
He was rehabilitated in 1993 after winning the UMNO Vice Presidency and was given the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prior to 1998, he had also served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs. His rehabilitation was completed when he was appointed deputy prime minister and Minister for Home Affairs following the dismissal of Anwar Ibrahim. As Minister of Home Affairs, Abdullah used his powers to rescind the ban on the Iban language Bible.
[edit] Premiership
Since coming into power as prime minister, Abdullah has promised to clamp down on corruption, giving more power to anti-corruption agencies and making it easier for the public to reveal corrupt practices to the authorities. He has also arrested several public figures from the Mahathir era on charges of corruption, a move which was widely applauded by the public. He has advocated an interpretation of Islam known as Islam Hadhari, which maintains that Islam and economic and technological development are not incompatible. Apart from that, his administration has been emphasizing a revival of the Malaysian agricultural sector.
In the eleventh 2004 general election, Abdullah's first election as the incumbent prime minister, he delivered a stunning victory for his party's coalition Barisan Nasional (of which UMNO is the dominant party) by winning 198 out of 220 seats in parliament, and wrested control of the Terengganu state government back from the Islamist opposition Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), as well as coming close to capturing the traditional PAS stronghold of Kelantan. The victory was widely regarded as an approval of his vision of moderate Islam over religious fundamentalism, and support for his anti-corruption policies.
In September 2004, upon his release from prison, Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister jailed since 1999 by former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, publicly credited Abdullah for not interfering with the judiciary's overturning of his sodomy conviction.
On September 10, 2004, Abdullah, as finance minister, tabled his maiden budget, which is seen by the public as being more consolidation and maintenance-oriented as opposed to the growth policies emphasised by Mahathir.
Abdullah is also known for stressing on Malaysia's internal security, after witnessing an increase in corruptive practices, such as bribery in the police force.
Abdullah is unofficially known in Malay circles in Malaysia as Pak Lah (Malay diminutive for "Uncle Abdullah"). The Malaysian government has issued a statement that the prime minister should not be referred to by this nickname in official articles and in newsprint; however, the nickname is still used informally. In fact, Abdullah himself often uses the nickname to refer to himself in public gatherings.
Abdullah continues to be heavily involved in foreign policy. He is the chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, since he became prime minister in 2003. As of 2005, he is also the chairman of ASEAN. He also served as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement from October 2003 until September 2006.
On October 20 2005, Abdullah's wife, Endon Mahmood, died after a long battle with breast cancer. She passed away at 7.55am. Endon discovered she had breast cancer in 2003 while her twin sister Noraini who had earlier been diagnosed with the disease died in January 2003. She received treatment in the United States and returned to Malaysia 18 days before her death. She is buried at the Muslim cemetery, at Taman Selatan, Precinct 20, Putrajaya.
Concerning the giving up of North Korea´s nuclear weapon and missile tests he is sceptical because they are something precious to the country. It will be very difficult to stop these actions.<ref name=msnbc>[1] MSNBC</ref>
Abdullah is also a well known Polyphasic Sleeper, known to follow a rigid schedule of sleeping through Cabinet meetings, important briefings, assemblies and ritually before and after meals. Badawi has honed the art of Polyphasic sleeping, enabling him to extend this state of mind and body for several hours during each session.
[edit] Economic Policies
During the 57th UMNO General Assembly, Abdullah declared an end to the economic legacy and grandiose projects of his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He told delegates that he will not pursue the economic strategies adopted two decades ago by Dr Mahathir.
He said in the past, wealth was generated not by innovation and creativity, but by foreign investment, government contracts and privatisation. "Now the era is gone," he said.
Agriculture and biotechnology are some of the highlighted issues in 9MP that the government believes such sectors are still able to generate wealth for many Malaysians, especially those in rural areas.
Under the Mahathir era, the country turned rapidly from an agriculture base economy to an industrialised and manufacturing base. As a result of the turnover, agriculture was sidelined and mega-projects such as Perwaja Steel manufacturing and Bakun dam were mishandled and failed. Petronas which see itself as the most profitable company announced every year should be able to purchase the falling National car company Proton and MAS airlines.
Under the Abdullah administration, the country is moving up to a value chain economy by developing its inherent strengths in agriculture without losing its existing manufacturing base. 1
[edit] Controversy
After moves to charge prominent figures such as Eric Chia and Isa Abdul Samad with corruption, Abdullah's administration's efforts to combat corruption became significantly less public. It is disputed as to whether Abdullah is continuing to fight corruption quietly, or has intentionally slowed progress in reducing corruption.[citation needed]
In 2005, it was alleged that under Abdullah's administration, there had been a significant increase in cases of cronyism regarding the distribution of import permits for foreign-manufactured vehicles. Mahathir, Abdullah's predecessor, called for an investigation of the issue. Later, Mahathir criticised Abdullah for cancelling a number of development projects that Mahathir had backed, such as the construction of a bridge to replace the causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore.<ref name=BRIDGE>The velvet gloves come off Malaysia Today</ref> Mahathir also alleged that Abdullah had originally offered to permit the Singaporean Air Force to fly over Malaysian territory and sell sand to Singapore in exchange for an agreement on constructing the bridge. Mahathir construed this as an instance of "selling" Malaysian sovereignty.[citation needed]
In 2006, Mahathir stepped up his criticism of Abdullah, alleging that freedom of the press under Abdullah had actually decreased, alleging that the media refused to publish Mahathir's comments. (Ironically, Mahathir had suppressed media criticism during his tenure, notably during the trial of Anwar Ibrahim.) He also accused Abdullah of reneging on promises he made to Mahathir related to government policies, and in his strongest criticism thus far, said in June 2006 that Abdullah had betrayed his trust. Mahathir expressed regret in selecting Abdullah as his successor, and said that he had originally intended for Abdullah's deputy — Najib Tun Razak — to succeed him. Najib, who was on a state visit to India at the time, immediately expressed unreserved support for Abdullah.<ref name=SUPPORT>What Mahathir is so mad about Malaysia Today</ref><ref name=SUPPORTTWO>Has Dr M gone too far this time? Malaysia Today</ref>
Recently (as of October 2006), Mahathir accused Abdullah of having developed a habit of lying.[citation needed]
Other criticisms of Abdullah have focused on allegations that his administration has seen growing Muslim conservatism and racial discontent. Although Abdullah's Islam Hadhari centred on moderation, critics suggest that the trend towards wearing the Muslim headscarf among Malay women indicates that Abdullah's policies may be insufficient to stem growing Muslim conservatism. While Abdullah has been noted for "an inclusive view of Malaysian society," other critics who contrast Abdullah's administration with Mahathir's suggest that Mahathir was more successful at managing "to keep harmony among Malaysia's ethnicities".<ref name=ETHNICITIES>Not the Retiring Type TIME Magazine</ref>
It is also widely circulated that Abdullah's own son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin is behind most of his decision making. It has been alleged that Khairy had strategically planted his aide from his university days to major positions within Abdullah's office. However Abdullah has defended himself and particularly Khairy, against these allegations.
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Profile from Official Website
- Profile: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
- The loyal Abdullah wins his rival Anwar's job
| Preceded by: Mahathir bin Mohamad | Prime Ministers of Malaysia 2003- | Succeeded by: Incumbent |
| Preceded by: Anwar Ibrahim | Deputy Prime Ministers of Malaysia 1999-2003 | Succeeded by: Najib Tun Razak |
| Prime Ministers of Malaysia | Image:Flag of Malaysia.svg | |
|---|---|---|
| Tunku Abdul Rahman | Abdul Razak | Hussein Onn | Mahathir Mohamad | Abdullah Badawi | ||
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