By KUNA
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was sworn into office on Monday after rumors of his resignation due to the downfall of his multi-racial National Front coalition in Saturday’s general election.
Badawi said after heading a National Front coalition meeting, “I will not resign; there is no pressure of any kind.” The prime minister read the oath of office in the Malaysian king’s palace in the capital, surrounded by cabinet members and government officials.
The Islamic party that won the 12th nationwide elections has promised to review and reform its strategies and agenda during the next five years, to place the spotlight on developing local states, where it lost elections.
The Malaysian Government has recently faced a series of racial protests and rallies, due to the increase of inflation and crime in addition to striking high prices in the domestic market.
Malaysian states control land and water and thus can effectively scuttle federal development projects in areas under their governance.
Infrastructure stocks and shares linked to the federal government or its favored tycoons took the brunt of the sell-off on the stock exchange.