Denison Jayasooria on Pak Lah

Written by Melody Song & Lam Jian Wyn (the edge malaysia)

His real impact is in his reform agenda. He called for greater democracy, for a stronger parliament through a select committee, a stronger emphasis on integrity, transparency and accountability, and he was more open to dialogue. He allowed people to vocalise more, and created a greater space for democratic policies. I would call him the "Father of modern democracy".

He continued the economic thrust of his predecessor. However, he reverted to focusing on the rural economy, which was a major shift. He did not focus much on building the economy although he introduced various economic corridors. In the area of poverty the focus was again on rural while urban was a major issue. Nonetheless, the economic slump we find ourselves in is more of a global phenomenon than a local one.

However, his language and his policies found the greatest opposition from within Umno and the Barisan Nasional, due to their old school of thought; they subscribed to and were caught in Mahathir’s way of thinking. Many of theleaders in his Cabinet could not live up to his policies and new standards set. There was no support from the various institutions of the public administration such as the police and agencies with regards to Pah Lah's anti corruption thrust.

He was also a victim of his own openness. His critics such as Mahathir have used this freedom to criticise him, and it is not his style to fight back, to drag people to court and sue them. His critics went on a discrediting exercise, where various allegations on the Internet such as corruption were made against him. That said, the accusations tended to be more focused against his family.

Overall, Abdullah Badawi is a man ahead of his time, and the institutions and political processes could not catch up with him. Without institutionalized help, his reforms cannot be achieved. The people wanted him to deliver faster than he could; he had assumed that the people would wait for him, which turned out otherwise.

Furthemore Pah Lak is a nice guy but he failed to be decisive in his actions namely to see his policies through at the implementation level. He should have balanced his graciousness with decisive action.

I still have a great respect for what he stood for and his philosophies, and I think that history will judge him well, provided if it is not distorted. He will probably be appreciated a generation after his time.

(Wednesday, 01 April 2009 18:43 www.theedgemalaysia.com)