The jury is still out, but blistering attack against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by his predecessor may not have any lasting damage on his government, political analysts suggested.

They opined that the public will judge Abdullah's real capability in carrying out his pledged reforms rather than the attack made by Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Wednesday.

A row between the two men exploded two days ago when Mahathir accused Abdullah of breaking his promises and damaging the country by rolling back the veteran leader's initiatives.

The ex-premier, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in power, also claimed he came close to be 'stabbed in the back' by Abdullah while BN leaders immediately rallied behind the latter.

Blunders began with Mahathir

Analyst Khoo Kay Peng said Abdullah "must improve himself" and carry out genuine reforms like the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

"If he is still flip-flop on the issues like IPCMC, the government-linked companies and (national utility giant) Tenaga Nasional Berhad's problems, he will be judged poorly," Khoo cautioned.

"If he stood by his promises, then I think he will win over the people's hearts because after all, it is not about Mahathir's criticisms but Abdullah's own performance that matters," he added.

Khoo, who is head of think-tank Sedar, also reminded Mahathir that he could not just 'wash his hands' now because a lot of blunders began when he was in power.

"The present government is a continuity from Mahathir's administration. Of course, Abdullah has not done much, but he can't be blamed for causing the damages," he asserted.

Academician Prof Shamsul Amri Baharuddin also brushed aside any significant impact the criticisms will have on the people and Umno.

"Mahathir is no longer in power. If it's an attack, it won't be printed as news in the Malaysian context," he said in reference to the tight control of the media by the government.

Mahathir has been complaining that his statements critical of the government were constantly blacked out by the local media but his statement on Wednesday was given prominent coverage.

"You know what the Umno divisional leaders are saying? They are asking why this guy (Mahathir) can't stop talking because he is criticising things that he had done and had not done," he added in a blunt tone.

Shamsul, who is the director of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's (UKM) Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation, said Mahathir's concern was just about his pet projects.

"He wants his projects to be continued which is understandable, but we understand that he has many failed projects too and Abdullah has to put the house in order as a result of that," he said.

He pointed out that Abdullah was not against Mahathir's mega projects in all such as the double-track railway project which was put on hold and now revived under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Expectations not met

Shamsul said Mahathir must be reminded that he is not Lee Kuan Yew or Goh Chok Tong but "an ex-PM who is concerned with Malaysian affairs" now.

The two former Singaporean premiers are still playing an influential role within the government in their official capacities as minister mentor and senior minister respectively.

Describing the controversy as a 'public debate', the academician said he viewed part of the problems stem from the different personalities of the two in running the government.

"Mahathir is a doctor and if you are sick, he will give you Panadol or Paracetamol, very quick. But Abdullah wants consultation, he will ask you to see the doctor or a specialist first," he said.

He said Abdullah should reply to Mahathir's criticisms in a reasonable and rationale manner.

Former member of parliament and malaysiakini columnist Sim Kwang Yang however begged to differ with the duo on the impact of Mahathir's criticism as he opined the development is an open challenge to Abdullah's authority.

"All things are not well within Umno... (Abdullah) will feel uncomfortable within Umno because many people still hold what Mahathir said and see Mahathir as a mentor," Sim said.

However, he felt that Mahathir should not talk "as if he is a king in a kingdom" when he wants Pak Lah to follow in his footsteps.

"Mahathir's personal agreement with his successor (to carry on his visions) is their business, it is not the interests of the nation, we are only interested in the national agreement," he said.

He was referring to the mandate that Abdullah obtained in the last 2004 general election when the Barisan Nasional won the elections overwhelmingly.

On this, independent opinion poll research centre, Merdeka Centre's director Ibrahim Suffian said Abdullah has not taken the full advantage of the mandate given to him by the people.

"He did not fulfill a lot of public expectations and failed to translate pledges into needed reforms and things are slowing down," he explained.

He also felt that many of Abdullah's policies were not well-explained to the public, "but the irony is that this also happened during Mahathir's time".

Ibrahim said Mahathir's complaint on the lack of transparency could have been addressed if he had made systemic changes when he was still the premier.

Karpal: Retire with dignity

Of Mahathir's regret in choosing Abdullah as successor, Sim quipped that Mahathir could have groomed his sons to succeed him as premier whereas UKM's Shamsul said it was Mahathir who voluntarily stepped down when he could have chosen to stay on.

But all the analysts agreed that Mahathir should continue to speak up and he is entitled to his rights of criticising, with Sim saying that Mahathir "should reveal more skeletons in the Umno's closet".

In a related development, DAP chairperson Karpal Singh told Mahathir to cease and desist from further interfering in the running of the government.

"He must accept that his time was up when he passed on the baton of leadership to Abdullah. There is no turning back, he should retire honourably and with dignity," said Karpal in a statement

"Of course, he is constitutionally entitled to that freedom but he must realise that being a former PM, that freedom has certain limits when it comes to commenting upon the running of the government by his successor," he added.