OMG, WHAT WILL DR M SAY? NURUL to launch Pak Lah's book in Singapore

KUALA LUMPUR - In a move that is bound to raise eyebrows, one of Malaysia's most popular Opposition figures Nurul Izzah Anwar has been invited to launch former prime minister Abdullah Badawi's book "Awakening, the Abdullah Badawi years in Malaysia" in Singapore later this month.

Nurul, who is the daughter of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, said she has accepted the invitation to launch the book on Aug 30.

She did not say why she was invited or give further details. But quick-witted and beautiful, the 32-year-old MP for Lembah Pantah is rated very highly as a potential prime minister herself.

"I believe the Malaysian launch will be presided over by Abdullah himself and (former deputy prime minister) Tun Musa Hitam," theSun reported Nurul as saying.

Not sleepy anymore

In his book of 35 essays, Badawi - also known as Pak Lah - tries to explain his 'doziness' syndrome.

Although he won the largest majority ever for the BN coalition in 2004, he was later criticized especially by his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad for under-performing in his duties and ridiculed for falling asleep, literally,on the job.

In Abdullah's tell-all book, which will contain more than 35 essays, he defends his tenure as prime minister and accusations that he slept on the job by revealing that he had been suffering from sleep apnea.

"I did tell Mahathir of my condition so for him to say I doze off because I am not interested in the job is most unkind. He knew the problem and yet he chose to say all these things," Badawi wrote in his book.

The 74-year-old Badawi says he has since undergone surgery and no longer suffers from the condition.

Surprising strong statements

But the most controversial revelation in Badawi's surprisingly-strong book was his revelation of how Mahathir tried to hammer through his projects even when out of power.

“Can you imagine, if I had succumbed to Mahathir’s continued pressure to spend when the deficit was already so high, how could Malaysia have weathered the oil and financial crisis which subsequently came in 2008?" Badawi said in the book edited by Bridget Welsh and Wong Chin Huat.

“The deficit which we brought down to 3.2 percent crept up again due to subsidies for oil and essentials and hovered again at the 5 percent level. If we had not been prudent then, continued to spend, I can tell you we would be bankrupt by now."

That was perhaps the most stinging rebuke ever publicly delivered to Mahathir from someone who was his equal in office and at their Umno party.

"Very noisy fallout"

The 88-year-old Mahathir has yet to respond to the comments in Badawi's book. However, he is unlikely to keep quiet and many in Umno are already bracing for a "very noisy fallout".

"We don't know who invited Nurul but what's wrong. She's smart, popular and people want to meet her. Whether government or Opposition, MPs represent the people. It is only the very outdated types like Dr M and Lee Kuan Yew who are unable to give space for different viewpoints and that may be due to their own vested interests rather than anything else," an Umno watcher told Malaysia Chronicle.

Badawi was prime minister from 2003 to 2009. He resigned in 2009 to make way for Prime Minister Najib Razak following what is widely described within Umno as an internal 'coup' and which was allegedly spearheaded by Mahathir.

After chalking the record landslide victory in 2004, Badawi took Umno-BN to its then-worst electoral performance in 2008, losing the coalition's long held two-thirds control of Parliament.

However, that 'blemish' has since been eclipsed by Najib's even weaker performance in the May 5, 2013 general election, where the Umno-BN ceded another 7 seats and failed to re-take the key state of Selangor.

Malaysia Chronicle