Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi says he will stick to his plan to hand over power to Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the end of the month, dismissing speculation he would stay on as prime minister.
The prime minister was commenting on talk that he would not relinquish power even after Najib takes over as Umno president at the party’s general assembly this month.
“Well, there was this plan that I have made, so we have to follow the plan,” he was quoted by Bernama as saying in Hua Hin, Thailand today at the end of the Asean summit there.
There has been strong talk in recent weeks that he would stay as PM based on rumours that some of his aides and officials had renewed their contracts for another two years.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the rumours are not true.
According to the power transfer plan, Abdullah will clock out as prime minister for the last time on March 31, just days after Najib is confirmed as the new Umno president.
Najib will then chair his first Cabinet meeting on April 1 as Malaysia’s sixth prime minister.
Rumours of Abdullah planning to stay on has caused some anxiety among many of Najib’s aides and supporters, prompting Abdullah to reiterate his retirement plan today.
Abdullah and Najib had hammered out the power transition late last year after the prime minister came under intense pressure to quit following Barisan Nasional’s worst electoral performance in the general elections last March.
Abdullah had wanted to stay on as PM till 2010 but caved in to intense pressure from his own party to leave early.
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