Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has endorsed his deputy as his likely successor, despite insisting that he has no plans to resign soon following an election fiasco.
Abdullah identified Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday as his probable successor in line with the ruling party’s tradition of political succession. It was the first time Abdullah has clearly identified a successor.
Yesterday, Najib thanked Abdullah, saying he was “touched and grateful” for the endorsement. He made his remarks to reporters who sought his reaction, according to an aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements.
The comments by Malaysia’s top two politicians could help ease uncertainty in the ruling United Malays National Organization party about its future leadership. Most senior officials have pledged loyalty to Abdullah, but some members are openly calling on him to step down.
Abdullah is facing much of the blame for crippling setbacks suffered by his National Front ruling coalition in March 8 general elections. The coalition, led by Abdullah’s Malay party, lost its two-thirds majority in parliament as well as control of five state legislatures.
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has led demands for Abdullah’s resignation, while a ruling party lawmaker, Razaleigh Hamzah, has indicated he will try to challenge Abdullah for the party presidency in balloting scheduled for December
Although Najib is now the party’s deputy president and would typically be considered the front-runner to succeed Abdullah, speculation has intensified that other politicians, including International Trade Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, might try to overtake him.
The president and his deputy in the ruling party traditionally also take up the top two posts in the federal government. Abdullah took office in October 2003 after being hand-picked by Mahathir, who retired after 22 years in power.
DOUBLE-MURDER CASE: The officer told the dispatcher he would check the locations of the callers, but instead headed to a pizzeria, remaining there for about an hour A New Jersey officer has been charged with misconduct after prosecutors said he did not quickly respond to and properly investigate reports of a shooting that turned out to be a double murder, instead allegedly stopping at an ATM and pizzeria. Franklin Township Police Sergeant Kevin Bollaro was the on-duty officer on the evening of Aug. 1, when police received 911 calls reporting gunshots and screaming in Pittstown, about 96km from Manhattan in central New Jersey, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renee Robeson’s office said. However, rather than responding immediately, prosecutors said GPS data and surveillance video showed Bollaro drove about 3km
Tens of thousands of people on Saturday took to the streets of Spain’s eastern city of Valencia to mark the first anniversary of floods that killed 229 people and to denounce the handling of the disaster. Demonstrators, many carrying photos of the victims, called on regional government head Carlos Mazon to resign over what they said was the slow response to one of Europe’s deadliest natural disasters in decades. “People are still really angry,” said Rosa Cerros, a 42-year-old government worker who took part with her husband and two young daughters. “Why weren’t people evacuated? Its incomprehensible,” she said. Mazon’s
‘MOTHER’ OF THAILAND: In her glamorous heyday in the 1960s, former Thai queen Sirikit mingled with US presidents and superstars such as Elvis Presley The year-long funeral ceremony of former Thai queen Sirikit started yesterday, with grieving royalists set to salute the procession bringing her body to lie in state at Bangkok’s Grand Palace. Members of the royal family are venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures, and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide. Sirikit, the mother of Thai King Vajiralongkorn and widow of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died late on Friday at the age of 93. Black-and-white tributes to the royal matriarch are being beamed onto towering digital advertizing billboards, on
POWER ABUSE WORRY: Some people warned that the broad language of the treaty could lead to overreach by authorities and enable the repression of government critics Countries signed their first UN treaty targeting cybercrime in Hanoi yesterday, despite opposition from an unlikely band of tech companies and rights groups warning of expanded state surveillance. The new global legal framework aims to bolster international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering. More than 60 countries signed the declaration, which means it would go into force once ratified by those states. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the signing as an “important milestone,” and that it was “only the beginning.” “Every day, sophisticated scams destroy families, steal migrants and drain billions of dollars from our economy...
RSS