Close foreign political, economic ties high on Abdullah's agenda
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is a team player whose foreign policy is likely to focus on enhancing political ties and trade with Southeast Asian nations, the United States and Japan, officials and economists said today.
Abdullah, who will take over as prime minister when Dr Mahathir Mohamad retires late next year, will continue to support free trade and strive to improve investment climate in the country, they said.
"Abdullah will work towards having strong political and economic ties with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the country's key trading nations," said an official close to Abdullah.
Malaysia's traditional trading partners are the United States, Japan, Singapore, China and Taiwan. These countries collectively account for 58.5 percent of Malaysia's trade.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The official pointed out that the Asean-plus-three (China, Japan and Korea) annual summit initiated by Mahathir was actually suggested by Abdullah, who has been Mahathir's deputy prime minister since 1999.
Describing Abdullah as a team player, he said the deputy premier "will not change Mahathir's set policies. He will work to develop Malaysia into a modern and progressive nation."
Unorthodox methods
Mahathir is seen by his supporters as a champion of the developing world and is a frequent critic of the West and globalisation, which he calls an anarchic system of the powerful controlling weaker countries.
In the wake of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis he used unorthodox methods such as currency controls, which were initially strongly criticised, but later won acceptance as having protected the economy.
Ramon Navaratnam, corporate advisor to construction giant SungaiWay Group, said he was convinced Abdullah would continue to promote strong political and economic links with Asean and rest of the world.
"The difference may be that he could be less flamboyant but more pragmatic," he told AFP .
Navaratnam, a former deputy secretary general of treasury, said Abdullah would perhaps be less critical than Mahathir.
Mahathir had been a great promoter of Malaysia as a investment destination, however, and all Abdullah needed to do was to follow-up and enhance this, he said.
The economist brushed aside concerns of political instability in Malaysia with Mahathir stepping down.
"This is unfounded. That the succession could destabilise the country is a naive assessment of Malaysia," he said.
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