Here is a little more info on the old and new leaders:
A bridge too far
Mahathir's offensive comes as the 'indecisive' PM's popularity
declines. By Mageswary Ramakrishnan. Asia Times
Jun 7, 2006
A growing tussle between Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi and his strong-willed predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, has
complicated the premier's reform plans and cast a dark cloud over
the political scene.
Abdullah rose to power with Mahathir's overt blessing in 2003, and
with a promise to reform the links between government and business
that characterized Mahathir's 22-year tenure.
Nearly three years later, a series of politically charged policy
decisions has put the two leaders on a collision course that is
testing Abdullah's grip on power.
Abdullah's recent decision to suspend construction of a half-built
bridge from Malaysia's Johor province to Singapore reportedly
infuriated Mahathir, 80, who made an executive decision to build
the massive bridge two months before announcing his resignation in
2003.
Mahathir had earlier promised to inspect the bridge's construction,
even if he was no longer in power. His son sits on the board of one
of the Malaysian companies involved in the bridge's
construction.
Abdullah also recently sacked the chief executive officer of the
national car maker, Proton, a well-known Mahathir associate.
Mahathir, who currently serves as a senior adviser to the company,
publicly condemned the decision. Proton was largely shielded from
international competition during Mahathir's tenure, where high
tariffs made foreign cars as much as triple the price of Proton's
cars. Abdullah has since moved tentatively to reduce those trade
barriers.
On his resignation, Mahathir overtly decided against taking on the
title of mentor minister, as Lee Kwan Yew did in Singapore to
maintain a measure of influence over major government
policies.
Now that Abdullah's policies have exposed chinks in Mahathir's
political legacy, the tough-talking former premier is fighting back
with a surprising vengeance.
Mahathir's beefs against Abdullah's government center primarily on
the latter's slow but steady drive to dismantle the various
nationalistic economic programs Mahathir conceived and built up in
pursuit of rapid economic growth.
Political insiders say that Mahathir also resents Abdullah's
conciliatory diplomatic approach toward Singapore and the West,
including the United States - countries with which Mahathir
frequently took issue as de facto spokesman for the developing
world.
In a recent interview with Malaysiakini, coincidentally the online
newspaper his government had raided and frequently harassed,
Mahathir vented his anger against Abdullah through a series of
not-so-veiled accusations.
He opined broadly that the prime minister's family members should
not be allowed to conduct business with the government.
The comments were an apparent jab at Abdullah's son, Kamaluddin
Abdullah, who is head of the government-linked oil-and-gas company
Scomi.
Kamaluddin has come under heavy political fire for his alleged
involvement in producing parts that were subsequently sent to Libya
and deployed as centrifuges in Tripoli's nuclear program. (Libya
has since announced it would scrap its nuclear program in an
agreement with Washington.)
According to media reports, Kamaluddin claims that he was unaware
of how the devices were to be used.
However, the prime minister's critics claim that his government has
moved to cover up details of the scandal through detaining Sri
Lankan businessman Buhary Syed Abu Tahir - one of Kamaluddin's
business partners who is also an alleged senior figure in the
proliferation network of Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan -
under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite
detention without trial.
Abdullah signed the detention order, which was not publicly
announced, in his capacity as home minister, according to media
reports. The use of the ISA against potential government critics
for alleged national-security purposes harks to the darkest days of
Mahathir's authoritarian rule.
Other government critics note that Abdullah's son-in-law, Khairy
Jamaluddin, has rapidly risen to the post of deputy chief of the
United Malay National Organization's (UMNO's) youth wing, putting
him in line for a future leadership position inside the ruling
party.
Broad allegations of nepotism and abuse of power in government,
particularly stemming from Mahathir and his supporters, are clearly
aimed at undermining Abdullah's reform credentials, even though
many of his initiatives have in reality pushed crucial reforms
forward.
Waning popularity
Mahathir has aired his complaints and grievances at a time
Abdullah's popularity is clearly on the wane.
Growing indications are that Abdullah, who won a landslide
electoral victory in 2004 on a clean-government ticket, has not
been able to stem the systemic government corruption he inherited
from Mahathir's administration.
On the economic front, the cost of living is rapidly rising, and
street protests against the government's decision to raise fuel
prices have become an almost weekly affair.
Moreover, an emboldened civil society has called on his government
to divulge more information about the finances of Petronas, the
national oil-and-gas giant.
Political insiders say the strains have led to infighting among
Abdullah's senior advisers, and the soft-spoken and fervently
religious premier has failed to bridge the growing internal
divisions inside his UMNO party.
How many of these allegations are anti-Abdullah spin leveled by his
political rivals is difficult to discern. A thick veil of opacity
still surrounds the workings of government, a holdover from
Mahathir's days in power that Abdullah has for whatever reason
decided to keep intact.
"If Abdullah has been making reforms, the results are not seen.
It's something I cannot see myself. It's one of his weaknesses,"
said Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a senior Kuala Lumpur-based political
scientist.
Increasingly, Abdullah is being portrayed as a slow and indecisive
leader - in direct contrast to the firebrand, can-do image Mahathir
carefully crafted for himself. Abdullah's critics point in
particular to his recent flip-flop on the government's policy
toward illegal migrant workers, a lightning-rod political issue
here.
First Abdullah announced a crackdown, then called it off without
explanation. "Abdullah's most telling weakness is his inability to
make decisions," said a local political reporter, requesting
anonymity.
Abdullah has also been slighted both by his supporters and by his
critics for his inability to shake up the political status quo,
which he boldly vowed to do while on the 2004 election trail.
Abdullah's cabinet notably returned many discredited politicians,
many of whom are known to have direct ties to Mahathir.
"Abdullah's cabinet lineup shocked the nation," said political
scientist Mohammed Agus. "Ministers whose reputation has taken a
serious whack due to graft are still there."
Perhaps most troubling is Abdullah's apparent willingness to crack
down on dissent, eerily similar to the oppressive tactics Mahathir
used to stay in power unopposed for more than 22 years. Abdullah in
January ordered the sacking of two editors of a Chinese-language
daily newspaper, representing a crude and direct intervention in
the workings of the press.
The newspaper stood accused of wrongly identifying as a Chinese
national a woman who was caught on camera being strip-searched by
security personnel. Abdullah's government had apologized to Beijing
over the incident based on information in the news reports.
"People thought he would be different, more tolerant of dissenting
views," said the news reporter, adding: "All that was mere lip
service."
With such reform setbacks, and with Mahathir nipping at his heels,
Abdullah's political clout is waning inside UMNO. His proposal to
form an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission
(IPCMC) was openly rejected by the UMNO-controlled parliament and
many top-ranking police officers have threatened to resign if the
new body is created.
Police officers have also publicly vowed they will vote for
opposition candidates at the next general elections in 2008 if the
IPCMC is implemented.
Faced with such opposition, Abdullah has since gone quiet on one of
the Malaysia's most pressing reform issues: police reform. "His
attitude now shows, quite clearly, he has no voice, no power," a
civil-rights activist who supports the IPCMC legislation said on
condition of anonymity. "He is a weak prime minister."
Less than two years into his term, Abdullah's ability to effect
political change has clearly diminished.
As Mahathir and his supporters go on the offensive against his
government, Abdullah will need to spend valuable political energy
just to maintain his grip on power, leaving him less time and clout
to dismantle the political and economic system Mahathir built and
Abdullah had once boldly vowed to change.
