The pressure from Anwar Ibrahim is too great. Malaysia's Prime Minister sees the writing on the wall and has announced that he is standing down so that his party, the party that has misused the ISA to lock up an anti-Government blogger, can fight Anwar with new leadership in place.
The Hive continues to demand the immediate release of Raja Petra Kamarudin and will continue supporting Anwar until Raja Petra Kamarudin is released. We note that our Malaysian readership is growing steadily. 70 Malaysians from 7 cities visited the Hive yesterday.
This from Bloomberg
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi may quit in March, four years before his term expires, as an emboldened opposition threatens his ruling party's 51 years of uninterrupted power.
``There were two or three members who felt the transition should be done early,'' he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today after an emergency party meeting postponed a December leadership election by three months. Abdullah, who will make a decision next month, said the delay will expedite the transfer of power to his deputy Najib Razak.
Abdullah has previously resisted calls from ruling party lawmakers for fresh leadership to fight opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who claims to have wooed enough support in parliament to seize power himself. Anwar has attacked the government's handling of the economy and increases in gasoline prices, which pushed inflation to 26-year highs in July and August.
Today's announcement ``doesn't really solve the overall political scenario'' of a ruling party ``that needs to be rejuvenated,'' said Mushtaq Ibrahim, who manages about $1.4 billion as chief investment officer at Amanah SSCM Asset Management Bhd in Kuala Lumpur.
Abdullah, who earlier planned to hand power to Najib, 55, in June 2010, said he still has work he wants to do, including pledges to reform the judiciary. Abdullah, 68, said today he will decide whether to compete for the presidency of the ruling United Malays National Organisation by Oct. 9.
Anwar's Opposition Gains
Political uncertainty has risen since a three-party opposition alliance won control of an unprecedented five of Malaysia's 13 states in March. Anwar fell 30 seats short of ending majority control of the 222-member parliament by Abdullah's UMNO-led coalition.
``They have lost the mandate of the people,'' Anwar, 61, told reporters in Hong Kong today after addressing an investor conference.
``The issue is not Abdullah or his deputy,'' the opposition leader said, repeating a call for the government to negotiate on a transfer of power to the opposition.
Abdullah and Najib have rejected Anwar's claims to have secured majority backing in parliament, and have called the opposition's campaign for power, including a pledge to scrap Malaysia's preferential policies for the ethnic Malay majority, a threat to the multiethnic country's economy and security.
