Pak Lah: Thank God I Didn't Listen To Dr M
The relationship between former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Dr Mahathir has been on the rocky edge ever since Pak Lah was appointed as PM by Dr M himself. Pak Lah was on the receiving end of Dr M criticisms, but now the roles are switched as Pak Lah tells all in his new book titled "Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years In Malaysia".
By Mei Mei Chu — 07 Aug 2013, 03:49 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Pak Lah spills all in new biography "Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years In Malaysia"
Pak Lah spills all in new biography "Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years In Malaysia"
Image via googleusercontent.comit was scheduled to come out earlier but there were some concerns in Putrajaya that the fifth prime minister’s comments and observations could spark a war between Abdullah and Mahathir and split Umno before the May 5 general election.
"Awakening" was jointly edited by political analysts Bridget Welsh and James Chin, is due to be launched by Pak Lah later this month.
themalaymailonline.com
"If I listened to Dr M, Malaysia would be bankrupt by now"
Pak Lah: Malaysia Akan Bankrap Kalau Saya Dengar Cakap Mahathir
terbakor.com
If Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had succumbed to the pressure applied by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to spend without a care and continue with some of his pet mega-projects, Malaysia would be bankrupt by now.
For example, Abdullah remembered that he went to see Mahathir and explain that he had to postpone several projects, including the double-tracking rail system that the latter had initiated because of the bulging budget deficit.
“He, however, disagreed with me as he felt the government should continue to spend. But how do we do it when the deficit was at such critical levels? It would be highly irresponsible for me to continue spending.
“Can you imagine, if I had succumbed to Mahathir’s continued pressure to spend when the deficit was already so high, how could Malaysia have weathered the oil and financial crisis which subsequently came in 2008? "
“The deficit which we brought down to 3.2 percent crept up again due to subsidies for oil and essentials and hovered again at the 5 percent level. If we had not been prudent then, continued to spend, I can tell you we would be bankrupt by now."
“I think it is hypocritical of Mahathir to try and deny my family from being legitimately involved in business"
“There were many allegations also made against my son and son-in-law regarding government projects and business, particularly by Mahathir.
yahoo.com
Pak Lah on his relationship with son-in-law Khairy Jamaludin: “I think it is hypocritical of Mahathir to try and deny my family from being legitimately involved in business"
Image via wordpress.com“... I can tell you that throughout my entire time in office - be that as minister, deputy prime minister or prime minister - my son never got anything through direct negotiations let alone be awarded anything on a silver platter by the government.
yahoo.com“I think it is hypocritical of Mahathir to try and deny my family from being legitimately involved in business when his own children were all heavily involved in business in a big way throughout the entire time he was prime minister,” he said in his book.
yahoo.com"My late wife, staffers and close associates pointed out to me that I had a tendency to doze off"
Pak Lah on his snoozing problem: "My late wife, staffers and close associates pointed out to me that I had a tendency to doze off"
Image via blogspot.comIn a new book, aptly termed " Awakening, the Abdullah years in Malaysia ", the former premier revealed that he had been suffering from a medical condition known as sleep apnea.
yahoo.com"The doctors warned me to take this seriously. I then went to Australia (in 2007) for surgery to remove the polyps in my nose that was causing me to have breathing difficulties," he said.
themalaysianinsider.com
Abdullah also explained that sleep apnea was a dangerous condition, as people suffering from the illness could doze off while driving.
yahoo.com"I did tell Mahathir of my condition so for him to say I doze off because I am not interested in the job is most unkind"
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reveals that predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad knew of his sleep apnoea problem but still went on to accuse him of sleeping on the job.
themalaymailonline.com
Pak Lah o his sleep apnea problem: "I did tell Mahathir of my condition so for him to say I doze off because I am not interested in the job is most unkind"
Image via photobucket.com"I did tell Mahathir of my condition so for him to say I doze off because I am not interested in the job is most unkind. He knew the problem and yet he chose to say all these things,” he added.
themalaysianinsider.com
"Mahathir is set in his ways. And he believes that his way is the only way"
“I didn’t like what Mahathir did. I gave Mahathir the opportunity to give me his views. I went to see him but he chose to be public in his attacks against me and my administration,” read an excerpt of his book Awakening.
themalaymailonline.com
“Mahathir is set in his ways. And he believes that his way is the only way. When I tried to do things differently, he believed that I was doing things wrongly. But that is Mahathir,” read another excerpt.
“Mahathir cannot deny that he contributed to the erosion of BN's support in 2008 through his criticisms and attacks, calling my administration, which included a majority of people from his own Cabinet, as a ‘half-past six government’ and accusing us of corruption and all kinds of things."
yahoo.com"I believe that once you retire, you are retired. You should not interfere with your successor"
Abdullah also said that when he left office in 2009, he was determined not to be like Mahathir. He wanted Datuk Seri Najib Razak to establish himself as the prime minister.
Pak Lah on his relationship with Najib: "I believe that once you retire, you are retired. You should not interfere with your successor"
Image via themalaysianinsider.com“You should not interfere with your successor. If there is anything you are unhappy with, you can always offer your views privately. Why bring it up in public and make life difficult for him?"
themalaysianinsider.com
Pak Lah's problem with Dr Mahathir
Abdullah, 73, was prime minister from 2003 until 2009 after having served as Dr Mahathir’s deputy beginning in 1999.
themalaymailonline.com
Although handpicked by Dr Mahathir to be his successor, Abdullah later came under relentless attack from the nation’s longest-serving prime minister and ultimately was forced to relinquish his presidency of Umno and position as prime minister to Datuk Seri Najib Razak in April 2009.
themalaymailonline.com
In 2005, it was alleged that under Abdullah Badawi's administration, there had been a significant increase in cases of cronyism. Later, Mahathir Mohamad criticized Abdullah for cancelling a number of development projects that the former had started.
In 2006, Mahathir stepped up his criticism against Abdullah Badawi, alleging that freedom of the press under Abdullah Badawi had actually decreased. And in his strongest criticism thus far, said in June 2006 that Abdullah Badawi had betrayed his trust.
Mahathir expressed regret in picking Abdullah Badawi as his successor and said that he had originally intended for Abdullah Badawi's deputy, Najib Tun Razak, to succeed him.
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