In affront to Dr M, Badawi is named Petronas adviser

KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been appointed adviser to state oil firm Petronas, in what is seen as an affront to statesman Mahathir Mohamad, who was recently fired from the position for orchestrating a campaign to oust Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Dr Mahathir, Malaysia’s longest serving Prime Minister, had also lobbied hard for Mr Abdullah’s resignation as premier seven years ago.

“The Cabinet agreed to the appointment of former Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, as the new Petronas adviser,” Mr Najib said in a statement on Friday (March 25) evening, adding that the appointment will take effect from April 1.

Analysts told TODAY the move to appoint Mr Abdullah, 76, was akin to a slap on Dr Mahathir’s face. However, they were not surprised over Mr Abdullah’s appointment given that the post has gone to two previous prime ministers, namely Hussein Onn and Dr Mahathir.

This was despite speculations that former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was also in the running for the post.  He was also the first chairman and CEO of Petronas, when he was just 37 years old.
Mr Asrul Hadi Abdullah, a director with political risk consultancy BowerGroupAsia, told TODAY that the Mr Abdullah’s appointment is “adding insult to injury” after Dr Mahathir was removed from the post he had held since 2003.

“This is especially since the former premier has always viewed his succesor (Mr Abdullah) as incompetent,” he said.

Mr Ibrahim Suffian, the executive director of Malaysia-based independent pollster Merdeka Centre said as Prime Minister, Mr Najib has the prerogative of appointing the advisor to Petronas.

“What he has done is not wrong but it underlines the big fight between the two of them,” he said in referring to the fraying ties between both Dr Mahathir and Mr Najib.

Dr Mahathir handpicked Mr Abdullah as his successor when he stepped down in 2003 after leading the country for 22 years. But Dr Mahathir later became highly critical of Mr Abdullah’s stewardship, including the cancellation of the former’s plan to build a “crooked bridge” to replace the Causeway, and began pressuring Mr Abdullah to resign.

Mr Abdullah stepped down in 2009 after the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition lost its two-thirds majority in the 2008 General Election, its worst performance since 1969 and handed over the baton to Mr Najib.

Although Dr Mahathir was initially supportive of Mr Najib, the controversies surrounding state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the US$680 million (S$) deposited into the Prime Minister’s bank accounts prompted the former to call for the premier’s resignation last year.

Dr Mahathir joined a bipartisan movement to sign a “Citizen’s Declaration” early this month calling for Mr Najib to step down.  This resulted in his termination as Petronas adviser on March 11.  He also filed a lawsuit against Mr Najib, alleging corruption and abuse of power over 1MDB and the funds in Mr Najib’s accounts.

Mr Najib had denied any wrongdoing, maintains that he did not use the funds for personal gain and was cleared of any criminal offence or corruption. AGENCIES with additional reporting by EILEEN NG