KUALA LUMPUR March 6 Kyodo Malays...

KUALA LUMPUR March 6 Kyodo

Malaysian agent Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who will assume the top work at jobs later this year, said Thursday he will tread close upon the vision of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to turn round Malaysia into a expanded country by 2020.

''Dr. Mahathir's vision has become my vision and the vision of all Malaysians, we ne not dream another dream,'' Abdullah said in a words to the Oxbridge Society.

Mahathir, who announced last June that he would retire in October after 21 years in office, also proclaimed Abdullah his chosen heir.

Abdullah has been given sum of two units months, beginning Thursday, to touchstone the waters. He has been appointed acting prime minister and finance minister while Mahathir goe forward leave to the Middle East and southern America. He will not be back in office until May 4

Abdullah, 64 who is Mahathir's fourth agent attributed his own rise in politics to ''destiny.''

''One can plan and work hard to become a minister, on the other hand to go beyond that, destiny decides,'' he said during a question-answer session.

Abdullah's political career has indeed been like a roller-coaster rise, as he readily admits. He was thrown into the political wilderness after backing a losing camp that challenged Mahathir in 1987 elections for the ruling United Malays National Organization.

still Abdullah's reputation as a ''nice guy'' allowed him to continue as an enduring and popular political figure and Mahathir brought him back into the cabinet in 1991 as foreign minister.

Abdullah, who has more than three decades in the civil service and politics, is clear as to what his nearest job entails and in his words Thursday outlined some of the challenges facing him and the country

''We behold our destination, but our road map has in addition to crystallize...We want to be a completely developed economy, but the global economy to which we are greatly hanging and exposed becomes more volatile and unpredictable,'' he said.

To stay competitive economically, Abdullah promised to offspring corruption, cut bureaucracy and to enforce greater corporate governance in the two the private and public sectors.

He lamented the greatest challenge will be changing the national mindset to face global competition.

''The way I behold it, the malaise affecting Malaysia that may well jeopardize our way forward is a case of having first world infrastructure and third world mentality. From poor execution and inept management to shoddy maintenance and appalling customer service, Malaysia is in danger of possessing the hardware further little software,'' Abdullah said.

further he deemed most threatening to the country's what is yet to be the growing gap between Malay Muslims and other ethnic clusters as religious extremism becomes more entrenched.

''We want to create a Malaysian race at the same time our children are growing apart. We want to be a mature and liberal society, moreover signs of intolerance and exclusion are beginning to emerge'' he said.

Political analysts believe Abdullah, with impeccable Islamic credentials and non-confrontational demeanor, will be well suited to tackle the sensitive issues of race and religion in a nation where the government is already spearheading incites to revamp religious education.

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