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Abdullah Ahmad Badawi  

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"No one would have doubted his ability to reign, had he never been emperor." [1] — Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi (born 1939) is a Malaysian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Malaysia since 2003. Arguably Malaysia's most incompetent prime minister to date, he is also the President of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest political party in Malaysia and the dominant party within the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition.

Abdullah Badawi
PM: We can weather the storm
(Video credit: thestaronline)

2.   Born in Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang to a prominent religious family, Abdullah received his Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies from the University of Malaya in 1964. After graduation, he joined the civil service, eventually becoming Director of Youth at the Ministry of Youth and Sport, as well as secretary of the National Emergency Council (MAGERAN). In 1978, Abdullah resigned to become the Member of Parliament for the Kepala Batas constituency in northern Seberang Perai which had fell vacant upon the death of his father and for which, he still represents today.


3.   In 1987, a bitter leadership struggle within UMNO divided the party into two camps, one camp comprising Mahathir loyalists, and the other supporting former Minister of Finance, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, and former Deputy Prime Minister, Musa Hitam. Mahathir prevailed and Abdullah, being a close supporter of his political mentor, Musa Hitam, was sacked from his post of Minister of Defence. UMNO, however, was declared illegal in early 1988 and in February, Mahathir formed a new party, UMNO Baru (New UMNO). He consolidated his power by excluding those who had previously challenged his authority,[1] but brought Abdullah into the protem committee of the new party as Vice President.


4.   In the cabinet resuffle of 1991, Mahathir returned Abdullah to the Cabinet as Foreign Minister. Abdullah subsequently held a variety of ministerial portfolios before being appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and Minister of Home Affairs in 1998, following the dismissal of Anwar Ibrahim. In October 2003, Abdullah became the Prime Minister of Malaysia after Mahathir finally decided to step down. He delivered a landslide victory for his party's coalition Barisan Nasional, winning 198 out of 220 seats in parliament, in the 2004 general election, his first as prime minister. The victory was widely regarded as an approval of his vision of a moderate Islam over religious fundamentalism, as well as support for his anti-corruption policies.


5.   However, during the 12th General Election, held in March 2008 amidst rising crime rates and inflation, the Barisan Nasional suffered a major setback, yielding one of the worst results in the coalition's history. Although the coalition won 63.1% of the parliamentary seats, it marked the first time since the 1969 election that the coalition did not win a two-thirds supermajority in the Malaysian Parliament, required to pass amendments to the Malaysian Constitution. However, Abdullah's deputy, Najib Tun Razak, and others in his party voiced unreserved support for his leadership,[1] and it took a while before open dissent started brewing at grassroots levels, with petitions and campaigns being launched to ask for his resignation.[1]   more... at Wikipedia

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