By NNN-BERNAMA
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has reiterated that he will defend his post as president of the United Malay National Organization (Umno), the dominant party in Malaysia’s ruling National Front coaliation in party elections in December this year.
At a dialogue with media leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia which began Sunday at Putrajaya, the national administrative capital, 25 km south of here, he said there was no reason for him not to contest.
There had been calls made, including by former Umno president and prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad, for Abdullah to step down following the losses suffered by the National Front in the March 28 general election whenit failed to score its traditional overwhelming victory.
The National Front still won a comfortable majority in parliament but lost its two thirds majority for the first time since 1969 and lost control of the legislative assemblies of five of Malaysia’s 13 states, compared with just one in opposition hands previously.
Asked about the date for the leadership handover to Umno deputy president, Najib Razak, who is also deputy prime minister — something which Abdullah says he intends to do — the prime minister said this would be discussed with his Najib.
“We have not precisely agreed on the date for transition. It won’t be in the next one, two or three months,” he said.
Touching on the Malaysian economy, Abdullah said it would be able to chalk up a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.5 per cent this year despite difficult economic challenges, especially skyrocketing oil prices.
With high crude oil prices, there was a need to postpone some mega-projects and to place emphasis on people-centric development projects as well as agriculture projects with immediate impact, he said. “Some projects need not necessarily be postponed but will be readjusted,” he added.
Replying to a question on the government’s response to a planned protest against the increase in fuel prices next month, he said: “Allow them to protest. We will continue to do what is best for the people to deal with the higher crude oil prices.”
As for Saudi Arabia’s move to convene a meeting in Jeddah of top oil producing and consuming nations to discuss record oil prices and the strain on the world economy, he hoped something positive would develop but a lot would depend on the major oil producers.
Major oil producing countries have to realize the strain on the global economies and poor people suffering as a result of the high prices, he added. Malaysia, as a small producer with an output of 700,000 barrels per day, could do little compared with Saudi Arabia whose output is nine million barrels per day, he said.
Asked about reforms of the judiciary, the Anti-Corrution Agency, the police and the public delivery system, he said it was important to have the capacity to implement them. He said it was not possible to do everything at the same time and the proposed reform moves would take some time.
Abdullah, who is also Finance Minister, said East Asian integration was proceeding with greater enthusiasm now that the Asean Charter was being put in place as well as because of the East Asia Summit, which was pioneered by the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).