Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

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Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri  Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Incumbent
Assumed office  31 October 2003
Monarch	Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin (2001 - 2006) Mizan Zainal Abidin(2001 - now)
Vice President	Najib Tun Razak
Preceded by	Mahathir bin Mohamad
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Kepala Batas
Incumbent
Assumed office  1978
Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement
In office 31 October 2003 – 15 September 2006
Preceded by	Mahathir bin Mohamad
President of UMNO
Incumbent
Assumed office  September 2004
Preceded by	Mahathir bin Mohamad
Born	26 November 1939 (1939-11-26) (age 68) Kepala Batas, Malaysia
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) part of Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse	Endon Mahmood Ambak (deceased) Jeanne Danker
Occupation	Civil Servant
Religion	Islam

Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi ^[1] (born November 26, 1939 in Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang) is the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is also the President of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest political party in Malaysia, and leads the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition. He is informally known as Pak Lah, 'Pak' meaning father while 'Lah' is taken from his name Abdullah. He succeeded Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad.

After Mahathir sacked Anwar Ibrahim, he appointed Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister. Abdullah went on to succeed Mahathir as Prime Minister in 2003. Abdullah took on a moderate, kinder, gentler approach to governing Malaysia, which were initially very welcomed by Malaysians.

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 approval 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 abolished by Abdullah, such as the construction of a bridge linking Malaysia and Singapore to replace the existing Johor-Singapore Causeway.

On February 13, 2008, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dissolved the parliament to pave way for the 12th general elections. He stated: "The king has given his consent to dissolve parliament, effective today the 13th of February, to allow the elections to be held; the states have been advised to dissolve the state assemblies on the same date." ^[2][3]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Early political career 3 Political career 4 Premiership 4.1 First term 4.2 Economic policies 4.3 50 years of nationhood 4.4 Second term 5 Family 6 Controversies 6.1 Disputes concerning Mahathir Mohamad 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Early life

Abdullah was born to a prominent religious family. His father, Ahmad Badawi, was a prominen religious figure and UMNO member. Badawi's paternal grandfather is Syeikh Abdullah Fahim whose one of the key person started Hizbul Muslimin later known as PAS, a famous nationalist and first mufti of Penang after Independence.^[4] His maternal grandfather, Ha Su-chiang (also known as Hassan), was a Chinese Muslim who came from Sanya in Hainan.^[5]

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. 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.

[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.

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 set 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] Political career

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. Due to this matter, old UMNO party has been declared void by Judge. 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 subsequently won the April 1987 Vice Presidential race in UMNO elections. However, because of his alliance to 'Team B', he was sacked from his position as Minister of Defence. Yet, he did not join Semangat 46 (Spirit 46) party which was set up by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Semangat 46 is now defunct.

When UMNO (Baru) was formed in Feb 1988, the then UMNO President and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad brought Abdullah into the protem committee of UMNO (Baru) as the Vice President. In 1990, Abdullah retained his seat as Vice President. During the Cabinet reshuffle in 1991, Mahathir brought Abdullah Ahmad back into the Cabinet as Foreign Minister. He held this post until November 1999 when Syed Hamid Albar succeeded. Even though Abdullah lost his Vice Presidency in the 1993 UMNO elections, he remained in the Cabinet and was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prior to 1998, he had also served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Minister of Education, Minister of Defence, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He completed his probation when he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and Minister of Home Affairs following the dismissal of Anwar Ibrahim.

[edit] Premiership

[edit] First term

Since coming into power as prime minister, Abdullah has promised to clamp down on corruption, thus empowering corruption agencies and providing more avenues for the public to expose corrupt practices. He has also arrested several public figures from the Mahathir era for corruption, a move which was widely applauded by the public. He has advocated an interpretation of Islam known as Islam Hadhari, which advocates the intercompatibility between Islam and economic and technological development. His administration has also been emphasising a revival of the Malaysian agricultural sector.

In the 2004 general election, Abdullah's first as prime minister, he delivered a landslide 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 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 as well as support for his anti-corruption policies.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, upon his release from prison in September 2004, publicly credited Abdullah for not interfering with the court's overturning of his sodomy conviction.

On September 10, 2004, Abdullah, as Finance Minister, presented his maiden budget that is seen by many as maintenance-oriented as opposed to the growth policies emphasised by Mahathir.

Abdullah is also known for focusing on Malaysia's internal security after the increase in corruptive practices, such as bribery, in the Law enforcement in Malaysia.Since coming into power as prime minister, Abdullah has clamped 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 Mahathir-era cronies on charges of corruption, a move which is 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.

Abdullah is unofficially known 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 often uses that nickname to refer to himself during public gatherings.

Abdullah continues to be heavily involved in foreign policy making. He is the chairman of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference since his premiership in 2003. As of 2005, he is the chairman of the ASEAN (ASEAN). He also served as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement from October 2003 until September 2006.

[edit] Economic policies

Abdullah declared an end to the economic legacy and grandiose projects of his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, during the 57th UMNO General Assembly. He told delegates that he would not pursue the economic strategies adopted two decades ago by Mahathir.

He said that in the past, wealth was generated not by innovation and creativity, but by foreign investment, government contracts, and privatization.

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 Abdullah administration, the country is moving DOWN to a value chain economy by developing its inherent strengths in agriculture without losing its existing manufacturing base^[6]

[edit] 50 years of nationhood

On August 31, 2007, Abdullah shouted 'Merdeka!' meaning 'Independence' during the midnight celebrations of Malaysia's 50 years of nationhood. The celebrations were held at Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur, where thousands of people congregated. His shouting of "Merdeka" emulated the actions of the first Prime Minister, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, when the latter declared independence from the British in 1957.^[7]

[edit] Second term

Abdullah won a second term as Prime Minister by winning the 12th General Election, held in March 2008, with a simple majority. The election was unprecedented as it is the first time since 1969 that the ruling party failed to garner a two-third majority vote (140 out of 222 seats) in Parliament. He also lost four additional states to the opposition (Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor). Although his party, Barisan National, suffered a major setback, Abdullah vowed to fulfil the promises in his manifesto amid calls from Mahathir, the opposition and even among Umno members for him to resign. However, his deputy, Najib Razak, and others in his party voiced unreserved support for his leadership.^[8] It took a while before open dissent started brewing at grassroot levels, with petition and campaigns being launched to ask for his resignation.^[9]

He was sworn in for a second term as Prime Minister on March 10, 2008.^[10]Badawi unveiled a streamlined 68-member Cabinet March 18, 2008, dropping half the ministers in his previous administration and keeping the crucial finance portfolio for himself.^[11]

Abdullah is currently facing a political crisis not only from the onslaught of the Opposition who has gained much ground by taking the richest and most important states (Selangor and Penang, which incidently is the hometown of Abdullah). He is also facing growing discontent from within his own ranks in the UMNO party. The son of the former premier, Mukhriz Mahathir, has openly called for him to step down. The UMNO Youth chief, Hishammudin has not taken any action against Mukhriz and declared that they find no fault with Muhkriz action. This is indirectly seen as Hishamuddin defying Abdullah, although Hishamuddin declared "full support" for Abdullah.

Abdullah is currently under heavy pressure to step down after many within his UMNO party including former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammad have openly asked him to take full responsibility on the dismal performance during the 12th Malaysian general election in March 2008. In response to Mahathir's comment Abdullah has accused Mahathir of double standards, saying that when the BN won a landslide victory in 2004, it was Mahathir who complained that the government was too powerful and needed a stronger opposition voice. He also held Mahathir accountable for muzzling the press during his 22 years in power and accused him of masterminding a controversial police operation dubbed Operation Lalang in 1987 to weed out dissent, resulting in more than 100 arrests under tough security laws.^[12]

Abdullah has initiated two significant changes in the system after the general election by declaring the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) to be fully independent and judiciary reformation as the promise.

Regarding the live telecast in Dewan Rakyat (the first time since after the 12th General Election) ^[13], Abdullah said he was ashamed at what had transpired in the Dewan Rakyat on April 30, 2008 (Wednesday) and agreed that live telecast of the proceedings should be scrapped. He said what happened was just “too much.”

"I felt ashamed if people watched television and saw what was happening in our Dewan. In my heart, I also felt that all this happened because there was a live broadcast at that time." said the Prime Minister.

There was many ideas from the government MPs and opposition MPs. Some MPs suggested that the live telecast should not be scrapped to let the people know what was really happening in the Dewan Rakyat and judge the MPs in conducting the people's voice in the parliament. Lastly, the live telecast of the proceedings is to be continue to show that there is transparency and to let the people know what the MPs are beahaving and debating.

On May 19, 2008, the dispute between Dr Mahathir and Abdullah reached a "shocking" stage when Dr Mahathir, who had served as Umno president for 22 years, announced that he was quitting the party after having lost confidence in Abdullah's leadership, and that he would only rejoin the party after Abdullah had stepped down as Umno president and prime minister.

Many quarters^[who?] see the move as a last-ditch attempt by Dr Mahathir to remove Abdullah from Umno and the government^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Family

On October 20, 2005, Abdullah's late wife, Endon Mahmood, died of breast cancer. Endon discovered the disease in 2003 while her twin sister Noraini, who had earlier been diagnosed with the same illness, died in January 2003. She received treatment in the United States and returned to Malaysia 18 days before her death. She is buried at a Muslim cemetery, at Taman Selatan, Precinct 20, Putrajaya.

On June 6, 2007, the Prime Minister's office announced Abdullah's marriage to Jeanne Abdullah. On June 9, a private ceremony was conducted at the Prime Minister's residence, Seri Perdana and attended by close relatives. Jeanne was formerly married to the younger brother of Abdullah's late wife. She was also a manager at the Seri Perdana residential complex and has two children from her previous marriage.^[14] However, earlier in March that year, the premier dismissed rumours about his plans to remarry even though the rumours has circulated more than a year.

[edit] Controversies

After moves to charge prominent figures such as Eric Chia and Isa Abdul Samad with corruption, Abdullah's administration's efforts to combat corruption allegedly became less transparent. It was noted by the Economist that little progress has been made on curbing corruption.^[15]

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been criticized for allowing his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, to become unduly influential in UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) politics. ^[16]

[edit] Disputes concerning Mahathir Mohamad

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. Then Prime Minister Mahathir had called for an investigation of the issue. Later, Mahathir Mohamad criticized Abdullah for canceling a number of development projects that the former had started, such as the construction of a bridge to replace the causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore.^[17] Mahathir also alleged that Abdullah had originally offered to permit the Republic of Singapore 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 against Abdullah, alleging that freedom of the press under Abdullah had actually decreased. Mahathir also added that the media refused to publish Mahathir's comments. He had 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 picking 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, immediately expressed unreserved support for Abdullah.

Mahathir announced his resignation from UMNO on 19th May 2008 before 1,000 Kedah UMNO members in Alor Star and urged other members to follow suit as a way of pressuring Abdullah to step down. However, he resists to join any other party and would only rejoin UMNO after Abdullah steps down. His departure raises the possibility of large-scale desertions by loyalists, which could split the party and bring down the government.^[18]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website of the Government of Malaysia
• Profile: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
• The loyal Abdullah wins his rival Anwar's job

Political offices
Preceded by Mahathir bin Mohamad	Prime Minister of Malaysia 2003 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Anwar Ibrahim	Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia 1999 – 2003	Succeeded by Najib Tun Razak
Preceded by Mahathir bin Mohamad	Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement 2003 – 2006	Succeeded by -

Prime Ministers of Malaysia
Tunku Abdul Rahman | Abdul Razak | Hussein Onn | Mahathir Mohamad | Abdullah Badawi