One month after taking power, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has stepped out of the shadow of retired strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Gone are the suggestions that Mahathir, who ruled for 22 years, would be pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

The clearest sign of Abdullah's determination to demonstrate independence has been his refusal to rubberstamp Mahathir's choice for deputy prime minister.

Instead, analysts say, he has spent his first 30 days quietly consolidating his position in the ruling party as factions jockey for influence after Mahathir's departure on October 31.

Indicating continuity

The sacking of the editor-in-chief of a major government-linked newspaper group, one of the few overt moves in the traditionally quiet month of Ramadan, is seen as part of that strategy.

"I don't think he's just a pushover or is just blindly going to follow Mahathir's policies," National University of Malaysia political scientist P. Ramasamy told AFP .

"I think for the time being he would like to indicate continuity, but we are already witnessing some impact he has on Malaysian politics in terms of him saying: 'Look here, ultimately my style will prevail.'"

That style, as expected, is quieter than that of Mahathir, who regularly ruffled feathers both domestically and internationally with his outspoken opinions and strongarm tactics.

But, according to the headline over an article by the editor of the New Straits Times two days before he was sacked, the new premier is "Nice, but there's steel, too."

Opposition Democratic Action Party leader Lim Kit Siang has pointed out, somewhat gleefully, that the editor, Abdullah Ahmad - a Mahathir appointee, was "the first to feel the steel".

The prime minister has said the editor was sacked because he wrote an article about authoritarian Muslim regimes which offended Saudi Arabia, but Lim said "very few will believe" this.

He and other observers have suggested that the editor was fired because of his open support for the appointment of Defence Minister Najib Razak as deputy prime minister.

Najib is the man endorsed by Mahathir for the job, which carries more weight in Malaysia than in most other countries as it usually goes to the heir-apparent and is a crucial element in factional ruling party politics.

Taking his time

Abdullah has delayed announcing his choice for the post so as to consolidate his position and deprive any possible challengers of time to build a support base ahead of ruling party internal elections due next year, a Western diplomat said.

The premier has also held back on any cabinet reshuffle, hanging onto two powerful ministries -- finance, which was held by Mahathir, and his own home affairs portfolio.

"He's taking his time, he has to establish control of Umno (United Malays National Organisation)," said Ramasamy.

"It is not weakness, he's waiting for right time to call his shots."

Apart from the sacking of the editor, the only other high profile move Abdullah has made was to release 19 of the more than 90 detainees held under the hated Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows detention without trial.

But Ramasamy (photo) dismissed suggestions that this could signify a new approach, saying Mahathir "did the same thing when he became prime minister. The ISA has become a convenient tool for politicians in the ruling party to maintain their hold."

Abdullah's calls in his early speeches as prime minister for a crackdown on government corruption and abuse of power, for which Mahathir's administration was regularly criticised, have received a similarly sceptical welcome.

But diplomats say he has begun to distance himself from the excesses of the Mahathir era, giving priority to agriculture and public services rather than the grandiose projects favoured by his predecessor.

His first trip as prime minister was to rural areas seen as strongholds of the opposition Islamic Party (PAS), where he displayed an easy charm as he handed out live goats, seeds and fertiliser to villagers whose crops and livestock were devastated by floods.

The visit was an indication that apart from the internal party vote, Abdullah is also preparing for general elections expected in the first half of next year in which he must seek a national mandate of his own.

Mahathir, meanwhile, has faded from the public eye, rarely appearing in the newspapers which recorded his every move and utterance for 22 years. Now, that treatment is reserved for Abdullah.- AFP