|
Malaysia's Mahathir Quits, Then Stays
2002-06-22
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday offered and rapidly withdrew his resignation from party and ruling coalition posts, prompting the opposition to call it a political charade.Mahathir, 76, Asia's longest-serving elected leader, was led weeping from the rostrum after announcing he was quitting all his positions in the Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition and in his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party. His speech, carried live on national television, threw the last day of UMNO's annual assembly into turmoil. But within an hour, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi returned to the microphone to tell an auditorium packed with party faithful that the prime minister had changed his mind. ''Dr Mahathir Mohamad is still our Prime minister, is still UMNO president, is still Barisan Nasional chairman and is still holding other posts,'' Abdullah said, asking coalition supporters round the country to stay calm. Cheers rose from the ranks of UMNO men in their traditional tunic, sarong and black hats, and women in their red headscarves, who thronged the auditorium. Abdullah said on television that Mahathir, who has ruled for 21 years, would have offered to quit his government posts too, but for the conference uproar. Apart from being premier, Mahathir is also finance minister. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, leader of the opposition front and wife of jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, said it sounded as if the event was stage-managed to bolster Mahathir's position ahead of possible early polls. ''It does seem like a calculated move to show the nation that he is still needed within UMNO,'' she told Reuters. WAVE OF POPULARITY Mahathir, hailed as a moderate Muslim leader since the crackdown on Islamic extremism in the wake of September 11, has been riding a wave of popularity after recent visits to the White House and the Vatican. While polls are not due before the end of 2004, speculation has grown that elections could be held next year. The drama at the assembly came only days after he accused ethnic Malays of being lazy and squandering their opportunities. ''I beg your pardon because I have failed,'' he said in an opening speech on Thursday that slammed Malays and other bumiputeras or ''sons of the soil'' for wasting their privileged status in the country. ''I pray that from among Malays there will emerge a leader capable of changing certain characters of the Malays and bumiputeras so that they will have the culture more compatible with success,'' he said during the two hour speech. But there was no other forewarning of the bombshell he dropped two days later, when he uttered the words many Malaysians never thought they would hear. ''I would like to take this opportunity to announce my resignation from my post as UMNO president and all the posts I hold in the party, my resignation as chairman of Barisan Nasional and all posts in the Barisan Nasional,'' he said. Abdullah was immediately heard calling him to withdraw his resignation while other ministers gathered round the hunched, sobbing Mahathir pleading with him to think again. ''No, I have decided. I have decided,'' Mahathir said, before being ushered from the conference hall. While he was led to a private room, accompanied by his wife, Abdullah and other senior UMNO leaders, crowds outside the hall chanted ''Long live Mahathir'' and ''We want Mahathir.'' The deputy prime minister then reemerged to tell the assembly Mahathir had been persuaded to change his mind. Wan Azizah, who leads Parti Keadilan Nasional, said events showed there were strong doubts about who would succeed Mahathir, despite his repeated assertions that it would be Abdullah. Abdullah said Mahathir would take a few days leave, but will go-ahead with a planned visit to Thailand on July 5-6.
ÂíÀ´Î÷ÑǾ¯·½ÔÙ´ÎÒÔ¼¦¼é×ï ÆðËßÇ°¸±×ÜÀí°²Í߶û (2008-06-29)Malaysia PM Won't Run in Election (2002-09-13)Malaysia's Mahathir Quits, Then Stays (2002-06-22)Malaysian PM gave nod for Chinese press deal (2001-06-22)Flu-struck Mahathir misses Chinese New Year fun (2001-01-24)
| 
