Domestic affairs Becoming prime minister after Mahathir's resignation in October 2003, Abdullah entered office espousing a
populist reform agenda. Some of his first acts in government were to shelve several mega-projects initiated under Mahathir that were perceived as wasteful and associated with political corruption, establish a
royal commission to investigate allegations of corruption in the
police force and propose reform, and introduce a code of ethics requiring cabinet ministers and elected representatives to declare their assets. Multiple anti-corruption investigations were also launched against government officials and businessmen that resulted in arrests. He also broke with past practice and appointed professionals to head
government-linked companies instead of politicians, calling for an end to the culture of the "
iron rice bowl" and towards a culture rewarding performance. Abdullah's personal popularity, as well as a nonconfrontational style of government that was favourably compared to his predecessor's perceived authoritarianism, delivered him a resounding victory in the
2004 Malaysian general election, where his Barisan Nasional coalition secured 198 out of 219 available seats. However, observers noted that
redelineation exercises the previous year under Mahathir also played a factor in the scale of victory. at the
White House in 2004The momentum of reform slowed after the 2004 general election, and Malaysia's ranking in that year's
Corruption Perceptions Index fell two places from 37th to 39th. The continued prevalence of money politics in the
2004 UMNO election, coupled with an abortive attempt to appoint Abdullah's son-in-law,
Khairy Jamaluddin, to head a government-linked company cast a shadow on the former's reform agenda, which faltered with the defeat of his supporters in the party's leadership election by conservative elements; the party itself was resistant to the kind of reform Abdullah wanted to institute as its organisation and the loyalties of its middle- and lower-rung leaders relied on
political patronage that took the form of government contracts and development funds. Instead, Abdullah shifted towards attempting a reform of
political culture within the country, introducing the concept of
Islam Hadhari, a moderate-to-progressive interpretation of Islam that called for religious tolerance and modernity. Crucially, it appropriated what had been the opposition
Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)'s themes of social justice and distributive equality that had helped them secure electoral gains against UMNO in the
1999 Malaysian general election. On the economic front, Malaysia experienced steady economic growth throughout Abdullah's years in office, but inflation remained a persistent issue. Under his administration, the
Malaysian ringgit's peg to the
US Dollar was ended in 2005. The agricultural sector, traditionally neglected in favour of the industrial and services industries, received significant investment from Abdullah's government. When rising costs led to the government lowering
petrol subsidies in 2006, street protests were launched in response. These were violently dispersed by riot police. Further plans for restructuring government subsidies in the face of rising fuel prices internationally also faced criticism as Malaysia was at the time a net exporter of petroleum and natural gas. The
Ninth Malaysia Plan launched by Abdullah covering government expenditure from 2006 to 2010 retained much of the costly and divisive
positive discriminatory measures introduced by the
New Economic Policy. By 2007, a slew of scandals had left a severe dent in public confidence in Abdullah's premiership. These included the acquittal of businessman Eric Chia, among the first to be arrested in the anti-corruption drive at the beginning of Abdullah's premiership, the murder of
Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa by two members of the police, which implicated deputy prime minister
Najib Razak, as well as corruption allegations leveled against government ministers, the
anti-corruption agency chief,
inspector general of police, and the
chief justice, among others. Mahathir had also began to openly criticise Abdullah after the latter cancelled a major infrastructure project in 2006, one of the last decided upon by Mahathir before he left office, going as far as saying he regretted choosing Abdullah as his successor. Conversely, his administration's decision to resume a number of high-profile mega-projects such as the
Bakun Dam elicited public criticism in the face of rising costs of living. The continued deterioration of relations between the country's ethnic and religious groups coincided with a rise in
Islamist sentiment in the country that the government promoted, The government at this time was also rocked by two successive large-scale public protests, the first
for free-and-fair elections and the
second by the country's
Indian minority against racial discrimination. Both were dispersed with the use of tear gas and chemical-laced water cannons by armed riot police. As many as 12 members of the opposition were also arrested for their participation in the protests which were deemed illegal. These events precipitated Barisan Nasional's poor showing in the
2008 Malaysian general election held in March, where the ruling coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament and control over four state governments to a
united opposition riding on popular discontent. Abdullah and his government's reputation was further damaged in September that year when it invoked the
Internal Security Act to arrest opposition parliamentarian
Teresa Kok, online blogger
Raja Petra Kamarudin, and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng, which prompted law minister
Zaid Ibrahim to resign in opposition.
Foreign affairs In contrast to Mahathir, Abdullah's administration adopted a "moderate and low profile approach" to foreign policy, doing away with the former's confrontational, often anti-Western attitude. Relations with Singapore, with whom the previous administration frequently clashed with over issues such as
Batu Puteh and the supply of raw water improved. Malaysia's relations with
Indonesia warmed at the beginning of Abdullah's premiership but became increasingly strained later on as cases of mistreatment against Indonesian migrant workers and the Malaysian government's heavy handed approach to illegal Indonesian immigrants elicited public outcry in the neighbouring state. During Abdullah's tenure, Malaysia sought closer ties with China and signed several agreements as part of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including the
ASEAN–China free trade agreement. Malaysia and China also released two joint communiqués and signed a
memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation in 2004 and 2005.
Resignation Blamed for the coalition's poor performance in the 2008 Malaysian general election, Abdullah was put under increasing pressure to resign as prime minister by coalition partners and UMNO leaders alike. Mahathir's announcement that he was leaving UMNO in May was widely understood as an attempt to force Abdullah's resignation. There were also fears that Sabah and Sarawak-based parties in the Barisan Nasional coalition might switch allegiances to the opposition led by
Anwar Ibrahim. On 10 July 2008, Abdullah announced he would step down as UMNO president and prime minister in 2009. During the UMNO general assembly on 1 April 2009, Abdullah stood down as party president in favour of his deputy,
Najib Razak and was succeeded by him as prime minister on 3 April 2009. Abdullah was subsequently conferred with the title of "Tun" by the
King of Malaysia,
Mizan Zainal Abidin for his services to the nation. == Personal life ==