Unlike some other UMNO "Stars", Badawi was not one of those
carpet beggars with some personal ambition.
He was not amongst those who fought for the Deputy Prime Minister
post, nor that of any higher echelon positions in the UMNO Supreme
Council.
At each turn of his political career, he was pushed up the ladder
by popular support.
It is due to his lack of ambition, and sincerity shown while in
office, that PM Mahatir picked him, after knocking out the
impatient, young and ambitious DPM Anwar Ibrahim.
When Badawi was a Foreign Minister, he was the one that patched up
relations with Singapore, when the ties were strained to the limits
by the frequent and unending "Singapore bashing" by the UMNO
Members and also by the Ministerial "hench men" of their PM
Mahatir.
Unlike the present Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, when Badawi
was the Foreign Minister, there was very little controversial
language coming from Badawi.
His gentle and straight forward character has won the respect of
many in the multi-racial Malaysian Community; and many have
preferred to call him, by the affectionate name "Pak Lah".
He does not seem to have any grand ambition of being the "Voice of
Asia", or "a Champion and Torch Bearer for ALL the Muslim Countries
on this Globe" unlike the current Malaysian PM.
With the realistic views of the world, as displayed by his very
circumspect replies to News Reporters' probing questions, one can
see that he is not a 'controversial' person.
If Badawi has the political strength and influence to prevail
against the pulls and pressures of parochial politics, we should
see a return to better ties with Malaysia.
