TR EMERITUS

By Elizabeth Looi, Malaysia Correspondent

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi could delay the handover of power to his deputy by several days – to say a proper farewell to his ministers, a local media outlet has reported.

Influential online newspaper Malaysia Insider said the Prime Minister planned to defer the handover from March 31 to April 3.

It said he wanted to do this so he could chair a Cabinet meeting on April 1 and personally bid farewell to the ministers.

Some of them have been his colleagues since former premier Mahathir Mohamad’s administration.

April 3 is the first date that any media report has given for the handover of the premiership.

Neither the PM nor Deputy PM Najib Razak confirmed the report.

Datuk Seri Abdullah told reporters he would officially announce the handover date later.

‘Of course we have a date. I have discussed with Najib,’ he said.

Datuk Seri Najib did not want to comment either. Wait for the official announcement, he told reporters at an event.

Yesterday also saw the embattled PM push through the last of the reforms that he had repeatedly promised to implement before stepping down.

A Bill to monitor enforcement agencies was tabled in Parliament. If passed, a commission will be set up to act as a watchdog for 21 government agencies, including the police, immigration, customs and the national anti-drug agency.

Critics said the commission has no enforcement powers.

The latest reform comes after earlier moves aimed at addressing the problem of the lack of independence in the judiciary, and at bolstering the anti-corruption agency.

Mr Abdullah had promised to fight graft during his administration, but his reforms have come under heavy criticism.

The anti-corruption agency was replaced by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

The MACC was supposed to be given more power but was subsequently seen as a Barisan Nasional political tool against the opposition.

The commission also drew flak when it investigated the chief minister of opposition-held state Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, after he was accused of misusing state funds.

Many critics felt that the MACC should concentrate on larger corruption issues such as money politics in Umno.

The commission had, in fact, earlier investigated several Umno grassroots leaders, including a party supreme council member, though that upset some Umno Youth members.

They felt that some of the party members were victimised as political scapegoats.

Mr Abdullah has urged the commission to speed up its investigations as the party polls draw closer.

The MACC recently picked up a senior minister’s political secretary for alleged graft involving more than RM70,000 (S$29,000).

Source: Straits Times

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