Despite months of speculation, opposition leaders expressed no surprise over Najib Abdul Razak's appointment as deputy prime minister, which was confirmed today.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said this was in accordance to convention, where one of Umno's vice-presidents would be given the second highest position in the country's leadership.

"It's not a surprise. His (Najib) name was also proposed by former prime minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) and he is the most senior veep in Umno.

"This goes to show how far the influence of the old regime (is). The only thing now is to wait for the elections," she added when contacted.

However, Wan Azizah said she does not expect much changes from the new leadership as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had said that he will follow the policies laid down by his predecessor.

The premier, who assumed office on Nov 1, announced Najib as his deputy after this morning's weekly cabinet meeting in Putrajaya.

The 50-year-old defence minister was also the choice of Mahathir, who on numerous occasions had stated that the former was the best person for the job.

However, Abdullah's protracted silence on the matter had fueled the rumour mills that the former probably had someone else in mind.

Political pundits have stated that Najib's appointment was a sign that the general election, which is not due until November, could be called earlier possibly during the school break in March.

'Politically weak' perception

Meanwhile, Keadilan deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali said Najib should prove his mettle and convince the rakyat that he is capable of his position.

He said the deputy premier, who is the son of the second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, should "make some changes to his character and personality".

"He must change the perception and allegations that he is politically weak," explained the veteran politician when contacted.

Najib, who entered politics at the age of 23, is the member of Parliament for Pekan, a seat previously held by his father. However in the 1999 polls, he only managed to retain it with a wafer-thin 241 vote majority out of the 26,055 votes cast.

In a related development, DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang questioned if Najib would be able to give his unstinting support to Abdullah to effect a full change-over of Mahathir's policies during his 22-year tenure.

According to Lim, these policies have "left Malaysia with the malaise of first world infrastructure, third world mentality with woeful international rankings on corruption, human rights and press freedom.

"Najib's black mark in his political career was his role in 1987 when he was Umno Youth leader in precipitating the Operation Lalang mass arrests under the Internal Security Act,' he said in a press statement.

The deputy premier had recently stressed that the security law, which allows detention without trial, was necessary for certain circumstances.

Commenting on this, Lim said: "His statement was most cynical, self-serving and an utter contempt of the human rights aspirations of Malaysians."

Parliamentary opposition leader and Terengganu Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang also expressed no surprises over Najib's appointment.

"This is nothing new because we are facing the party, not the person. No matter who governs, we will deal with him in the same manner," said the PAS president in the party's organ Harakah.

However, he added that the appointment may have nothing to do with the upcoming elections.

"It's Abdullah responsibility to appoint a deputy to assist him in the country's management. A deputy must be appointed whether the elections is near or far," he said.