KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will not renege on his promise to vacate the premiership after the Umno elections next March, a source close to the premier said yesterday. Abdullah is expected to hand over the reins of power to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak within two weeks of the Umno polls, the source said.
Abdullah would step down once his deputy was officially elected as president of Umno in March 2009 and the premier had no intention to prolong the handover following the party polls, he said.
However, the actual handover might officially take place in early April, the source said. All parties concerned must give Abdullah reasonable time to vacate the position following Umno’s annual general assembly to be held from Mar 24-28, 2009, he said.
“The palace must be informed, and they would coordinate the actual handover of power to the new prime minister. A date will be fixed and I think it should not take longer than two weeks following the party elections,” the source told The Edge Financial Daily yesterday.
He also pointed out that the appointment of the new prime minister must be done with the honour and dignity befitting a head of government. The swearing in ceremony would involve the Yang-Di Pertuan Agong, palace officials, cabinet ministers, senior government officials and foreign dignitaries, he said.
“It will be ridiculous to suggest Pak Lah hand over (power) the minute Datuk Seri Najib is proclaimed the president of Umno,” the source said. “You don’t expect Datuk Seri Najib to sign the acceptance letter on March 29 which is a Sunday at a secluded place. We are not in an emergency situation and there is no need to rush.’’
He added that Abdullah was unlikely to take leave leading to the party polls and is expected to be vocal on certain issues pertaining to the party’s direction at the coming annual general assembly.
By convention, the president of the ruling Umno party becomes the prime minister while the deputy president of the party would assume the position of deputy premier.
However, some leaders had recently speculated that Abdullah might hold on to power even after a new party president was elected. First to do so was Abdullah’s predecessor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who aired his doubt on his blog Chedet.com over whether Abdullah would step down. Subsequently, party veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah commented that there is no legal provision for the president of Umno to automatically assume the position of premier. He said that Abdullah had been given a five-year mandate as head of government following the 12th general election in March 2008.
Nevertheless, an Umno veteran said the prime minister would not succumb to pressure (from supporters) to hold on to the premiership after the party polls. Abdullah was fully aware that not defending the Umno presidency meant that he had to step down, he said.
Abdullah had already endorsed Najib as his successor and supported him for the presidency, the veteran said. The premier was more concerned to ensure that his reforms of the police force, anti-corruption agency and judicial appointments were met rather than to hold on to power, he said.
“Pak Lah wants to leave his office with a legacy that involves the curbing of corruption and weeding out of the little Napoleans,” noted the Umno veteran.
He also said Abdullah was confident that his deputy was capable of taking over the helm of the nation since they had a long working relationship in the Mahathir cabinet from the 80s. He said it was not true that the premier was handing over power to Najib merely to fulfill the “RAHMAN” theory. He was referring to a long-surviving prediction that the first letter of the prime ministers’ names would spell out the first premier’s name.
“Najib’s name officially starts with ‘Mohamed’ and not the letter ‘N’,’’ said the Umno veteran. He stressed that the appointment of the premier were based on capabilities and commitment to lead.
On Oct 8, 2008, Abdullah announced that he would not defend his Umno presidency at the coming party polls. He had promised to hand over the reins of power after a new party president is elected, paving the way for his exit in March 2009 at the earliest.
He became the nation’s fifth prime minister on Oct 31, 2003, taking over from Mathahir, who officially stepped down on the same day.
Yong Min Wei
The Edge
10/12/08
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