Malaysia’s prime minister has insisted that his plan for a protracted power transfer will restore political calm and enable him to fulfill promises to curb corruption and strengthen the judiciary.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s comments on Saturday, reported by the national news agency Bernama, came as his government mounted one of its biggest crackdowns on corruption, detaining top immigration officials suspected of accepting bribes.
Abdullah’s critics accused him of failing to deliver on reform pledges, but he said that he hopes to achieve results before handing power over to his deputy in mid-2010.
The prime minister told the news agency that his leadership transfer plan — an effort to resolve the political crisis facing his Cabinet since a major electoral setback in March — should put most politicians at ease ahead of the ruling party’s internal elections in coming months.
Abdullah intends to defend his top party post against a number of potential rivals.
“When I made the decision [to hand over power in 2010], it meant there would be less infighting, there would be less campaigning against one another,’’ Bernama quoted Abdullah as saying.
Abdullah denied trying to cling to office, saying the two-year transition would give his deputy, Najib Razak, time to prepare to take over and to spearhead the government’s efforts to regain lost ground ahead of general elections due by mid-2013.
Abdullah said that he will utilize his remaining time in office and “not slow down.”
Abdullah was among Malaysia’s most popular figures when he succeeded longtime leader Mahathir Mohamad in 2003, but his reputation had eroded badly by the time he led the ruling coalition to its worst-ever performance in March general elections.
On Thursday, Abdullah revealed plans to let Najib take over in two years, a decision that has received a mixed response, with most politicians supporting it but others seeking a speedier leadership change.
Abdullah has been confronted with relentless calls from dissidents in the ruling coalition for his resignation since the government lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority and the control of five of Malaysia’s 13 states.
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