Mahathir, right, introduces Abdullah (AFP)

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, October 31 (IslamOnline.net) – Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was Friday, October 31, sworn in as the fifth Malaysian Prime Minister, taking over from Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has been Premier for 22 long but rich years.

Abdullah, 64, took his oath of office before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku (King) Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail at the ceremony in Istana Negara after the Friday Jumaah prayers, according to Bernama news agency.

The austere ceremony began with Abdullah taking his oath of office and oath of secrecy.

He then signed the instrument of office before Chief Justice Tan Sri Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and witnessed by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsudin Osman.

Abdullah, born in Kepala Batas on Nov 26, 1939, is the eldest child of Ahmad Badawi, who was a religious teacher and politician, and Kailan Hassan.

He joined the government service in 1964 as assistant secretary in the Public Service Department (PSD).

Abdullah, who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister on Dec 10 1999, married Endon on Sept 4 1965 and they have a son, Kamaluddin, and a daughter, Nori, and four grandchildren.

Abdullah has served as Foreign Minister (1991-1999), Defense Minister (1986-1987) and Education Minister (1984).

Dr Mahathir took his oath of office as the fourth Prime Minister on July 16 1981 before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ahmad Shah, taking over from Tun Hussein Onn who had resigned from office.

After the ceremony, the new Malaysian Premier stepped into his new office as leader of the largely Muslim nation in South East Asia with his successor’s “unfinished business” lurking on the horizon.

Abdullah inherits the legacies and some immediate woes that Mahathir has left and which could be a heavy burden to carry for Abdullah, some experts told IslamOnline.net.

Mahathir’s retirement Friday, after a solemn but formal ceremony at the Putrajaya administrative city of Malaysia, leaving 22 years of hectic political upheavals and a rather sporadic transformation of the once agricultural country into that of a fast track, fast spiraling economic giant in the region.

Abdullah is quieter and less confrontational Mahathir (AFP)

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has unexpectedly survived the trip to Prime Ministership, making it to the highest post while Mahathir is still alive and running.

The resignation of Mahathir, now a reality, came as a surprise to many in the country.

Abdullah has taken the helm of Prime Minister at a junction and a crucial moment both for the country and the ruling Malay party the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

The case of former deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim is one of the negative aspects of the rule of Mahathir that Abdullah inherited, which also includes the division that it has caused among the Malays since 1998 and the receding electoral landscape of the UMNO.

“Abdullah could become the ‘soft spot’ that the opposition Party Islam Se Malaysia (PAS) has been looking for in these two decades to dislodge the UMNO from power,” Susilawati, a political analyst, told IOL.

She added that the Malay divide has given the PAS a firmer stronghold in the country, giving it the image of a party that can push the UMNO further into a corner.

“The leadership of Abdul Hadi Awang, the opposition’s candidate to the post of Prime Minister; is regarded as the strong man the opposition never had during Mahathir’s reign.

“Mahathir was the strong man, the rigid leader who forced his lieutenants to tip toe to his commands, this is not the case with Abdullah Badawi, he would never be able to harness the cabinet and the parliament like Mahathir did,” she added.

“This is a paradigm shift in local politics and the loss of Mahathir will be felt by the UMNO in the next elections,” said Abdul Samad, an opposition party member to IOL.

Abdullah Badawi will have to battle against the decline of the UMNO and the division of the Malays in his efforts to bring the UMNO back to its former glories at a time when the PAS is engaging a thunderous march to success in more majority Malay territories.

Abdullah will also inherit the current schism that has settled in the Malay community with the taking over of several pro-PAS mosques across the country and the breaking down of a mosque in the Bangi district this year.

The beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan was not that peaceful for many Muslims in Ampang, where a well established pro-PAS mosque located in Taman Kosas was forcefully taken over by pro-Government representatives.

This has caused serious commotion in the community of Muslims in the area, IslamOnline.net was told by one resident from Taman Kosas.