Pak Lah Malaysia S Fifth Pm Dies At 85

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In 2022, it was revealed that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was suffering from dementia and could no longer remember the names of his wife and other family members. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s fifth prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has died at the age of 85. His health had been failing in recent years.
A former civil servant, Abdullah, who was affectionately known as Pak Lah, became prime minister in 2003, after Dr Mahathir Mohamad ended his 22-year tenure.
Abdullah’s son-in-law, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin confirmed his death in an Instagram post.
According to Khairy, Abdullah passed away at 7.10pm at the National Heart Institute (IJN).
Separately, in a statement, IJN said that Abdullah was admitted to the hospital yesterday morning after experiencing breathing difficulties and was immediately placed under intensive care at the Coronary Care Unit where he was monitored.
Genial, soft-spoken and with a reputation as a “Mr Clean”, Abdullah led Barisan Nasional to a landslide general election victory in 2004. However,  he saw the coalition suffer a crushing loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority and control of five states to an opposition resurgence, led by the then Pakatan Rakyat, in the 2008 general elections (GE12).
Despite his attempts at reforming politics and the economy, Abdullah’s government and Khairy came under constant attacks from Mahathir and the opposition, eroding support for BN.
Abdullah bore the brunt of blame for the loss in GE12 and left office under pressure less than a year later.
He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Abdullah, and two children, Nori and Kamaluddin, from his first wife Endon Mahmood, who died of breast cancer in 2005. He also had two stepchildren, Nadiah Kimie and Nadene Kimie, from Jeanne’s previous marriage.
Abdullah, a Penang native, was a civil servant for more than a decade before going into politics. He was elected as MP for Kepala Batas in 1978 and went on to represent the parliamentary constituency for more than three decades.
He was appointed as deputy federal territories minister in 1980 when Hussein Onn was prime minister. After Hussein stepped down, Abdullah became a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in Mahathir’s first Cabinet.
A range of ministerial portfolios followed, from education to defence, foreign affairs, home affairs and finance, and he became Mahathir’s third deputy prime minister in 1999, soon after Anwar Ibrahim was jailed and the Reformasi movement began.
When Mahathir left office, Abdullah took over as prime minister on Oct 31, 2003. He called for a general election six months later and led BN to a landslide victory, winning 198 parliamentary seats out of 219.
However, incessant attacks on his government, from both Mahathir and the opposition, culminated in the loss of 58 seats and BN’s long-held two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat in GE12, in 2008.
Faced with internal party division, Abdullah stepped down as prime minister a year later, with his deputy Najib Razak taking over.
Abdullah remained in the Dewan Rakyat, serving as Kepala Batas MP in what was to be his last term.
After leaving office, Abdullah withdrew from the public eye and focused his time on his family and writing.
His health began failing, and in September 2022, Khairy revealed that Abdullah was suffering from dementia and could no longer remember the names of his wife and other family members. - FMT

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