The Hindu : Time-frame set for Mahathir exit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 28, 2002

International

International

Time-frame set for Mahathir exit

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE JUNE 27. A time-frame for the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad's departure from office — October 2003 — has now been officially announced by the ruling party's functionaries.

Given the fact that an emotional Dr. Mahathir was not allowed to conclude his "retirement'' speech on June 22 to United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) delegates, one can only speculate whether the Prime Minister had a similar deadline in mind.

During the course of his speech, the Prime Minister said he had an important announcement to make and then dropped the retirement bombshell. Party leaders were umbraged and upset and Dr. Mahathir himself was in tears. He was led away from the rostrum and back-room discussions then started. And, now with the concurrence of Dr. Mahathir (who is away on a holiday to Europe), his retirement time-frame has been set for October 2003.

Simultaneously, it was announced that his Deputy Prime Minister and heir apparent, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, will take over the top Government and party jobs in October 2003 — sometime after Dr. Mahathir presides over an OIC summit. Mr. Abdullah will also be the "acting'' Prime Minister when Dr. Mahathir is away from home; an announcement that only goes to confirm that the Deputy Prime Minister remains the favourite for the top Malaysian job.

One factor, which complicates the whole issue, is that Dr. Mahathir has chosen not to say anything on the entire affair himself.

It is entirely possible that he will break his silence on the issue upon return to Malaysia from his holiday. Usually, Dr. Mahathir is direct and forthright and likes to take the bull by the horns.

In this case, he may have preferred that the "succession details'' should be announced by the party and not by himself.

There is not just one contender for Dr. Mahathir's job within UMNO — many believed that the relatively low-profile Mr. Abdullah would be upstaged at the last moment by a higher-profile candidate.

However, after naming Mr. Abdullah as his deputy after the arrest and conviction of Anwar Ibrahim, once Deputy Prime Minister himself, Dr. Mahathir has stuck to his guns and showed no signs of changing his mind.

There is little doubt that Dr. Mahathir has decided to go while he is on the top politically.

During and after the Anwar Ibrahim drama his stock among the Malay community was at a low, but in the post-September 11 world Mahathir the politician has staged a stunning comeback.

His economic policies of introducing currency controls and pegging the ringgit after the 1997-98 economic crisis in South-East Asia have worked. Also, after taking over as Finance Minister, corporate reform has been taken up in earnest in Malaysia by Dr. Mahathir.

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