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| Tuesday, 02 November 2004 |
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Malaysia PM says honeymoon over, reticent on Anwar KUALA LUMPUR, Monday (Reuters) Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Monday the government needed to work harder to tackle corruption as he marked one year in office. "I have only finished one year. The honeymoon is over, I am aware of that...We have to work harder," Abdullah told reporters a day after his first anniversary of power. Abdullah declined to say if he would be willing to meet Malaysia's most prominent dissident politician, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who offered the prime minister his support at the weekend to clean up corruption. "No contact yet," Abdullah said when asked if he would accept Anwar's request for a meeting. Anwar endorsed Abdullah's anti-graft agenda on Sunday at his first news conference in Malaysia since rushing overseas for medical treatment in September following his release from almost six years' jail on what he called trumped-up criminal charges. But Anwar said the prime minister had not done enough to fulfil his pledge, which led Abdullah to a landslide victory for the ruling coalition at general elections last March. "I am not worried. It's a challenge," Abdullah said when asked about high expectations from his government to deliver on promises. "People know that we work hard...and stick to the objectives." Months after Abdullah took over from veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad, the land minister was charged for taking kickbacks in a share deal. But Abdullah has so far shied away from challenging senior government or party officials. A recent global corruption index showed the country's ranking slipped two places to 39th out of 146 countries surveyed. The prime minister's hold on the ruling United Malays National Organisation has also been questioned after rumours of bribe-taking clouded elections at the party's annual convention in September, despite Abdullah's public calls for a clean vote. |
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