Malaysian PM struggles for control of ruling party 

Financial Times Online – 10 May 2006

In recent days, Mr Abdullah has faced challenges from old guard and reformist factions, underscoring that party tensions are hindering efforts to introduce the political and economic reforms awaited by foreign investors. 
Mr Abdullah, who became prime minister in 2003, was the hand-picked successor to Malaysia 's long-ruling leader Mahathir Mohamad and his appeal to the Umno chiefs was that he lacked his own power base within the party. 
Since then, he has angered much of the Umno rank and file by curbing construction spending and trying to reform state-owned companies that have normally been a source of patronage to keep the party in power. 
Mr Abdullah's biggest challenge has come from Dr Mahathir, who could galvanise opposition to the prime minister from Umno's old guard. 
Dr Mahathir harshly criticised Mr Abdullah's decision last month to scrap plans for a bridge to neighbouring Singapore in response to opposition from the city-state. 
Dr Mahathir, who had championed the project, accused the Abdullah administration of lacking "guts" by selling out the country's sovereignty. Several of Mr Abdullah's top ministers accused the former leader of trying to undermine the government. 
Mr Abdullah has tried to shore up support within Umno by renewing his support for the country's long-standing policy of affirmative action for ethnic Malays and other indigenous people, who make up nearly 60 per cent of the population. 
In the past he criticised the policy, as did Dr Mahathir, for making Malays dependent on racial quotas and creating a class of ?rent-seeking? Malay businessmen. 
But in the latest five-year economic plan released in March, the government reaffirmed its commitment to affirmative action. Some foreign investors have cited the policy as a barrier to doing business in Malaysia and had hoped it would be relaxed. 
The policy has been criticised by some ethnic Malay political reformers, including Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister and prominent opposition leader, for fostering corruption and cronyism. 
Mr Abdullah is being urged by a small group of Umno reformers to do more to clean up the party. The issue received fresh attention last week after Shahrir Samad, a leading Umno reformer seen as a Abdullah ally, broke party ranks in parliament by supporting an opposition motion to cite an Umno member of parliament for abuse of power. 
Mr Shahrir then resigned as leader of the government's backbench group, threatening to trigger a rare showdown with the prime minister. Mr Shahrir's supporters wanted to re-elect him as backbench leader to assert the right to vote according to their conscience rather than automatically obeying the party line. 
Mr Shahrir said he voted for the opposition motion because he wanted to ?walk the talk? on the government's promises to improve transparency. 
Mr Abdullah criticised Mr Shahrir's action, saying he would have removed him as the backbench leader if he had not resigned. In response, the backbenchers decided not to force the issue by re-electing him. 
Analysts said Mr Abdullah was forced to quell the revolt by reformers because it would have weakened his grip on Umno by also inviting challenges from the old guard. But the move is seen as a blow to the prime minister's policy of encouraging openness and debate. 
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