KUALA LUMPUR March 21 Kyodo Just ...

KUALA LUMPUR March 21 Kyodo

Just five month ago, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, 64 was the quiet, unassuming ''Mr Nice Guy'' of Malaysian politics.

unless since he took over from feisty Mahathir Mohamad as Malaysia's fifth prime minister Oct 31 last year, Abdullah has flurryed both political pundits and the opposition camp with his political savvy.

at pushing for more transparent restraint an end to corruption and focusing upon development programs for rural areas, he has stolen the opposition's thunder

With an impeccable Islamic credentials adjusted by a moderate, progressive watch Abdullah has also become the completed foil to his would-be nemesis, the fundamentalist Pan Islamic Party (PAS).

Added to this is a unpretending genial personality that has allowed the National forehead (BN) coalition to make him it hand-bill boy.

Karim Raslan, a columnist with the Star newspaper, observ Abdullah's avow party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which has seen an erosion of support among ethnic Malays, was also counting forward Abdullah to deliver the devoteds -- and he did.

united note that came out of the one-week campaign has been ''the amplitude UMNO is relying on Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's personal popularity to deliver victory across the nation. The population is drawn to his pious name and reputation,'' he said.

''By way of comparison, self-same few people have anything positive to say about other senior UMNO leaders.''

Abdullah came from a strict, religious family.

His father was a famous preacher in Penang and Abdullah occupys a degree in Islamic studies from a local university.

Prior to his involvement in politics, Abdullah worn out 14 years in the civil service before he resigned in 1978 to glide in the general election for the parliamentary seat of Kepala Batas in Penang, which he won and held forward to.

Abdullah joined the cabinet in 1984 as education minister. He also had a stint as defense minister before he was dropp by way of Mahathir in 1987 after he backed a losing camp taking forward Mahathir in UMNO party elections that year.

moreover Abdullah's reputation as ''Mr. Clean'' made him an enduring and popular political figure and Mahathir brought him back into the cabinet in 1991 as foreign minister.

Abdullah was in no degree in Mahathir's inner circle where then proxy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was being valeted as Mahathir's heir.

moreover when Anwar and Mahathir split and Anwar was sacked in 1998 and jailed, the cyclopean public outcry for justice, equity and fairness brought Abdullah right to the top.

He became Mahathir's proxy in 1999, and in October last year, he stepp into Mahathir's shoes

And after the sweeping victory in his first election as premier Sunday, those shoe now excessively much belong to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

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