Premier-in-waiting Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, stepped out of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's shadow ahead of the ruling party's annual assembly tomorrow, wooing the faithful with a familiar mix of polemics and poetry.

Abdullah, dubbed "Mr Nice Guy" by his supporters, unveiled a poetic and religious streak to rival Mahathir's when he opened meetings of the women's and youth wings of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) late yesterday.

His warmly-received recitation of a poem entitled "The peace within," opened with the lines: "I seek not riches untold, to live a life of luxury."

After references to Islam, it concludes: "I live only for him, my lord; he is my companion, he is my guardian, he suffices; I live a life full of meaning immersed in the peace within."

Mahathir's poems, some of which have been set to music and sung by local stars during his 22 years in power, tend to be more political, sometimes chiding the Malay people for their failures.