Malaysia
By VIJAY JOSHI,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, March 27
In a carefully choreographed power transition, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was elected unopposed as president of the United Malays National Organization, the largest component in the ruling National Front coalition.
The post automatically gives Najib, 55, the job of the prime minister, which he will inherit next week from the moderate Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who spent a largely ineffective 5 1/2 years in office.
Critics within the ruling party blamed Abdullah's attempts to provide more political and press freedoms in the country for the party's disastrous showing in last year's general elections.
Najib's ascent to power has been accompanied by an increased government crackdown on opponents. In recent days, it banned two opposition newspapers and police broke up a rally by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim with tear gas.
"Malaysians view with great shock the signals that the incoming Najib Razak administration is giving ... as he prepares to assume power," said Tian Chua, the chief spokesman of Anwar's People's Justice Party.
"The harsh clampdown on media freedoms and the right to assemble ... suggest that severe repressive measures may be the hallmark of Najib's ascendancy to the premiership," Chua said.
On Thursday, Abdullah warned that the party will perish if it continues with its old autocratic ways.
"Sadly, there are still those who feel that we do not need to pursue reforms," Abdullah said in a speech to the party's annual congress before elections for office bearers in which Najib was elected.
"They believe that UMNO will regain its glory if we revert to the old ways ... by restricting the freedom of our citizens and by silencing their criticism," Abdullah said. "It is a path that I fear will hasten our demise."
UMNO, whose membership is open only to the majority Malays, leads the National Front coalition that has governed
Much of the voter anger was directed at UMNO, whose leaders are widely perceived as corrupt and power-hungry. The party is also accused of subverting the judiciary, the police force, the bureaucracy and of discriminating against the Chinese and Indian minorities.
Abdullah faced calls to step down immediately after the elections but made a deal with party bosses to stay on for a year before handing over to Najib, the son of
The suave and articulate Najib's reputation is marred by controversies. He has been accused of corruption, including an alleged shady deal to purchase French submarines when he was defense minister.
Najib denies the allegations, which have dominated blogs and Internet postings by Malaysian activists. The mainstream media are government controlled and do not report sensitive matters.
Najib, who has a degree in economics from a British university, will also have to grapple with an economy that is heading for recession despite a US$16 billion stimulus package that he announced earlier this month.
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Associated Press writer Eileen Ng in
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