Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's retirement was greeted by some with a sense of relief. The 22 years of his tyrannical rule had finally come to an end.

Despite the obvious economic progress the nation has made, there was a sense that the cost of that progress on our liberty, freedom and rights has been too much to bear.

Indeed, there was polite acknowledgment of Mahathir's contribution to the country but in general, the public sentiment was one of gladness.

Most people I met said although it was ''weird'' to see him go, they felt that he should have gone a long time ago.

Many also believed that Mahathir had wreaked more havoc in the final years of his reign than ever before and that the longer he stayed, the more problems he will bring to the country.


Of course, this air of optimism surrounding the departure of Mahathir can also be linked to the hope and responsibility placed on the shoulder of his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

For days the local media was full of features on what a great leader Abdullah can be on how he will bring positive changes to the nation with his open-mindedness, his leadership qualities and his soft-spoken ways.

There was even talk about how tough he will be on corruption, how much more tolerant he will be of political dissent, how much more compassionate he will be on Anwar Ibrahim's need for medical treatment overseas and how much more committed he will be to political reforms.

If this were the US or the UK, the first 100 days of Abdullah's tenure in office will be crucial for him to set the policy direction of his government. Not only does Abdullah need to outline the direction, but he also needs to show the commitment to uphold these promises.

He should remember that he was never voted by the people to be the prime minister. His ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, won a simple majority of seats in Parliament. As an appointed (but never elected) deputy president of the dominant Umno, he was appointed as deputy prime minister and then as premier.

Misplaced optimism

As such, there will be a million questions in the minds of his constituents the people of Malaysia. How will he assert his position as prime minister of Malaysia? Will he be as authoritarian as Mahathir? Will he be more politically mature than his predecessor? Will he be more mindful of the need to respect human rights? Will he stamp out the problem of corruption from the highest levels of government? Will he respect international law and standards?

These questions need to be answered as soon as possible, especially with the elections coming up soon.

Abdullah cannot afford to dilly-dally with his mission statement, given that the majority of the people in this country are yet to be convinced of his ability to lead the nation.

But the new PM has been in office for a week now and all the early signs seem to show that the optimism placed upon him are misplaced at best.

There are three glaring examples which show that Abdullah is either incapable, or unwilling to institute the reforms needed to clear the mess left by his predecessor.

The first involves his decision not to immediately appoint a deputy. Clearly, Abdullah is aware that his position (particularly in Umno) is too precarious and unsteady. He is obviously biding time to decide who among the other power hunters in Umno would serve his needs best. In order to do this, he must first establish his power needs and adjust the requirements for his deputy thereafter.

His decision not to appoint a deputy looks even more odious given the fact that he has also appointed himself finance minister, taking over from Mahathir. So, he is now effectively the prime minister, home minister and finance minister, with no deputy prime minister!

If he is trying to prove that he is a multi-talented man who can juggle multiple portfolios at once, then he is obviously sending the wrong message. Instead, the public now look upon him as someone who is as much of a control freak as was his predecessor!

Furthermore, it cannot be denied that there is much skepticism about Abdullah's capabilities to run the Finance Ministry. He certainly needs to convince the people that he knows what he is going to do and what it takes to do it.

Power issue

Why is Abdullah so reluctant to appoint other Cabinet members to become the finance or home ministers?

The answer is not confined solely to the power structure of Umno. There is no doubt, of course, that the infighting within Umno is bound to cause more than a minor friction regardless who Abdullah picks as his deputy. The bigger issue, however, is the immense power wielded by anyone appointed as the finance or home minister.

The finance minister will effectively be in charge of the government's coffers, and decide how public funds will be spent. Anwar Ibrahim's disagreement with Mahathir essentially began as a dispute over how public funds were being wasted on mega-projects and crony bailouts.

Abdullah will certainly have to bear this in mind, particularly if he already has in mind where the public funds would go to.

The home minister, as Abdullah very well knows, also has tremendous powers. Essentially he will be in charge of the police and the control of the media tools he needs to control if he is to have any chance of establishing his position of power within Umno.

Unless and until Abdullah can entrust these two powerful portfolios to someone he can trust to look after his interests, common sense suggests that he will not let go of them.

Another example of Abdullah's inability to change the wrongdoings of the government is his insistence that the government (under Mahathir) was right to award the multi-billion ringgit rail contract to Gamuda-MMC (under the control of well-connected businessman Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary), despite having earlier promised to award the contract to companies in India and China.

Clearly, there are some questions that beckon convincing answers, especially with the spectre of a diplomatic dispute with the government of India and China, but Abdullah defended the decision.

If he was truly committed to promote transparency and accountability, then he should have promised that the awarding of the contract would be investigated thoroughly to clear up any misconceptions.

Stifling dissent

Then, there is of course the thornier issue of victimising legitimate political opposition. Abdullah has not shown any signs that he will bring an end to this practice he has tolerated the arrest of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) leaders distributing Anwar's letter to the chief justice and the travel ban slapped on Keadilan leader and labour activist Irene Fernandez.

In a way, it is not all that surprising considering Abdullah, as home minister, was the one responsible for arresting opposition leaders under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 2001.

Indeed, if Abdullah is worried about his position in Umno, he should be more concerned about the challenge from the opposition, particularly PAS, which can add more pressure on his position.

All in all, I do not expect to see any changes or much-needed reforms under Abdullah's leadership. All the early signs are not promising. As a leader, he has shown that he has no qualms about appearing to be authoritarian as long as he can secure his hold on power.

Admittedly, he has reasons to be worried about his position but all this does not bode well for a nation badly in need of major structural changes and reforms to repair our badly battered and bruised democratic system under the rule of Mahathir.

KARIENA ABDULLAH, a graduate of University of London, frequently writes for reformasi publications.