More Praises For Pak Lah. How Much Of It Is Valid?

Since taking over as Prime Minister three years ago, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi succeeded in bringing a new climate in the leadership and administration of the country encompassing domestic and international affairs, said Umno Information Chief Senator Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib.

He said Abdullah had brought much openness and transparency in his administration, while on the international stage, he had established greater rapport with world leaders especially from the superpowers.

"This new climate has spurred the economy more so with new growth corridors and sectors created," he said.

He said this at a forum held at the end of the one-day national seminar entitled "Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Three Years in Putrajaya: Trailblazing a Brighter Future for Malaysia" here Thursday.

Muhammad was among four panellists at the forum, which was chaired by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Vice Chancellor Prof Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak. The seminar was organised by the university together with Institut Sosial Malaysia (ISM) and the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI).

Muhammad, who is a former Menteri Besar of Selangor, said Abdullah could lead the nation well because he had full support from all levels, be it the Cabinet, Umno, the component parties in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition or the people at large.

"Wherever in the world, leaders are bound to have some weaknesses. That's a norm. But to say that there is widespread opposition to his leadership... I disagree.

"The Cabinet is solidly behind him if compared to the time Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah mounted a challenge against Dr Mahathir (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) who was just in his fifth year as prime minister. Half the Cabinet supported Tengku Razaleigh," he said, adding that Abdullah's leadership style fitted in well with the prevailing situation in the country and the world.

"I notice Abdullah is very firm in determining the direction of the country. If some people say he has lost direction, I disagree. Abdullah is very clear in where he wants to go," he said.

Muhammad said that the people must understand the principles Abdullah stood by as they clearly placed emphasis on capacity building, human capital development and Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam) and not so much on physical development as was the case previously.

Meanwhile, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Datuk Seri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan in his paper at the seminar said that from one aspect it might be too early to evaluate Abdullah performance as he had been at the helm for only 38 months but it needed to be done as democracy demanded so.

He said that in pursuing the nation's strategic mission in matters of economy, the Third Industrial Master Plan and shrewd financial management, overall the Prime Minister had done well.

As to criticisms that foreign direct investment (FDI) was lacking and businesses were slow, immediate measures needed to be taken to rectify the situation, he added.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid, who closed the seminar, urged all Malaysians to give their full support to Abdullah to take the nation to greater heights. (Bernama)

***** One thing that surprised me was why ASLI had so quickly come back into the picture after receiving a bloody nose over the Bumi corporate equity issue. To curry favour with the administration perhaps? The unrestrained praise for Pak Lah at times sounded choreographed to me. Moreover the credibility and motives of former Selangor MB, Muhammad Muhd Taib is questionable. After all he is a man looking out for a 'lucrative' job which only the PM can offer. However Datuk Seri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, of ISIS said it best when he opined that it was too early to evaluate the PM's performance. I agree with him. What do you think?
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