MALAYSIA PM HINTS AT POWER HANDOVER

Malaysia’s embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has hinted at a handover of power to his deputy following last month’s election debacle. “I am not one who is going to retain the leadership forever,” Abdullah said. The premier has been under mounting pressures to step down following his coalition’s poor performance in last month’s general elections.

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June 18, 2022
Malaysia’s embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has hinted at a handover of power to his deputy following last month’s election debacle. “I am not one who is going to retain the leadership forever,” Abdullah said. The premier has been under mounting pressures to step down following his coalition’s poor performance in last month’s general elections.
On April 11, Abdullah told a closed-door party meeting that he would talk to his deputy Mohd Najib Razak about a transition of power. “The period of transition and so on were not mentioned in detail… matters such as when the transition will take place and so on will be discussed between him (Abdullah) and Datuk Seri Najib,” said Trade Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

The ruling National Front coalition lost its two-third majority in the parliament for the first time in its near-unbroken 50-year reign since independence. The opposition alliance, including the Islamists PAS party, also gained control of an unprecedented five of the country’s thirteen states, including the NF industrial heartlands.