Najib as the new Prime Minister in 2010

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will step down as Prime Minister in June 2010 and hand over power to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said two years was the right amount of time for him to complete his projects.

"(Deputy Prime Minister) Najib (Razak) also needs time to prepare the party for the next elections - whether it's 2012 or 2013.

"During this period, I will also let Najib sit in more committees and get to know the leaders of other countries."

Abdullah who is Umno president however said he would still seek nomination to contest the party's top post during the December party election and that Najib who is his deputy would still go for the number two party post.

He said he would not be leading Barisan Nasional into the next general election because by that time the country would have Najib as the new Prime Minister.

Abdullah admitted that he felt a little sad over his decision to quit as Prime Minister.

Opposition files motion of no confidence against PM

Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament, led by MP for Permatang Pauh and PKR president Datin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail, filed a motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister and his Cabinet after months of making the threat.

The Speaker promised to give full consideration to the motion but it has been understood that the motion will be rejected after it is read on Monday.

The motion, filed under Section 18 (1) and (2) of the House Standing Order, was passed to Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia at his office in Parliament House at 3.45pm.

Among others, the motion stated that the 12th general election witnessed a 'political tsunami' which saw five states and the Federal Territories falling into the hands of the Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional being denied a two-thirds majority.

"BN achieved its slim victory by manipulating the Election Commission and through lies.

"The price of fuel was suddenly raised after the elections although the deputy premier - while launching the election manifesto - promised this would not happen.

BN parliamentarians who rejected this irresponsible action of their leaders are threatened and forced not to speak out.

"This development has caused a crisis of confidence with the prime minister and his cabinet. The people are facing several crises such as an increase in the prices of fuel and foodstuff.

"In addition, the people's confidence in the police, attorney-general and judiciary is also on the decline. Crime and corruption is on the rise."

China’s Economic Rise -Fact and Fiction

China’s economy will surpass that of the United States by 2035 and be twice its size by mid-century, a new report by Albert Keidel concludes. China’s rapid growth is driven by domestic demand—not exports—and will sustain high single-digit growth rates well into this century.

In China’s Economic Rise - Fact and Fiction, Keidel examines China’s likely economic trajectory and its implications for global commercial, institutional, and military leadership.

Key Conclusions:

• Potential stumbling blocks to sustained Chinese growth - export concerns, domestic economic instability, inequality and poverty, pollution, social unrest, or even corruption and slow political reform - are unlikely to undermine China’s long-term success.

• China’s financial system, rather than a shortcoming that compromises growth potential, is one of the strengths of what the report calls “China’s money-making machine,” in part because of its ability to support the financing of infrastructure and other public investments necessary for sustained rapid growth.

• A Chinese economy that eclipses the U.S. by mid-century has both commercial and potential military implications. China will be the preeminent world commercial influence. China’s military capabilities are a small fraction of the United States’ today, so there is time to prepare for a very different world in fifty years.

• American policy makers should take this opportunity to enact wide-ranging domestic reforms and rethink their concepts of global order.

“China’s economic performance clearly is no flash in the pan. Its growth this decade has averaged more than 10 percent a year and is still going strong in the first half of 2008. Because its success in recent decades has not been export-led but driven by domestic demand, its rapid growth can continue well into the twenty-first century, unfettered by world market limitation.

China’s likely continued success will eventually bring an end to America’s global economic preeminence, requiring strategic reassessment by all major economies - especially the United States, the European Union, Japan, and even China itself.”

Abdullah: slander and lies spread in cyberspace

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Monday labelled as treachery the deliberate attempts to create perceptions of uneasiness and distrust in the people via the Internet and the short messaging service (SMS) with blatant disregard for the principles of the Rukunegara (National Principles).

The prime minister said these attempts, undertaken through Internet blogs, the YouTube and SMS, had blemished the principles of the Rukunegara such as Loyalty to King and Country, Upholding the Constitution, the Rule of Law, and Good Behaviour and Morality.

"All the slander and lies spread through the blogs and YouTube do not contribute to ease and confidence in the people," he said at the monthly gathering of the Prime Minister's Department, here.

"There is no more regard for statements of truth in law. Little attention is given to (one's) demeanour in life. The sovereignty of the Rulers is turned into an issue," he said.

Abdullah said not all of the people believed in the negative perceptions which were attempted to be created but it was portrayed that more people had become trapped in that situation.

"Conduct attributed to the truth is not appreciated. What is appreciated is the perception, and along with it the lies.

"Perception negates the truth. The truth is no longer talked about. The important thing is the perception," he said.

Abdullah said perceptions had influenced the attitudes and options of some people in the making of decisions, including those related to investment and business.

He said this must be rectified but, unfortunately, it had become a subject which the people were most interested in, so much so that it had become word of mouth and they resorted to exaggeration.

"The people must be appeased so as not to have any fear of a possible shortage of food. They must be pacified so as not to have any worry over their own safety and that of their families," he said.

Abdullah said the nation had just gone through the democratic process (March 8 general election) and the government had been given the mandate to administer the country.

The government, he said, hoped to be able to fulfill the aspirations of the people.

He said the government had adopted and would take measures to reduce the financial burden of the people arising from the increase in fuel prices which had caused them some restlessness.

"The people must have confidence in our efforts," he said. The prime minister called on the enforcement authorities to be firm in maintaining peace and security in the country.

"Let's stop doing what is undesirable. The people must exercise a high sense of responsibility. Our priority must be to maintain peace," he said.