Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Live Election Coverage
Breaking news, state-by-state map and more...
Election News
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Family ties take root in Malaysian politics
Mon Nov 3, 2008 7:24pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Jalil Hamid and Niluksi Koswanage
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Politics often appears to be a family affair in Asia with Pakistan's Bhuttos, India's Gandhis and the Lees in Singapore; now Malaysia looks set to join the party.
Najib Razak, the 55-year-old son of Malaysia's second premier and the nephew of the third, will take the helm in March at a time when this Asian nation of 27 million people grapples with economic problems and rising political and ethnic tensions.
Another rising star of the party that has ruled Malaysia for all 51 years of its existence as a country is Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of its longest-serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad.
On the opposition benches in parliament sits Nurul Izzah Anwar and her father, veteran politician Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is a former deputy premier who once looked set for the top job until he was kicked out of the ruling party and jailed on what he says were false charges.
"There is an Asian belief that political power can be passed on to the next generation through bloodline," said James Chin, political science professor at Monash University in Malaysia.
Critics say the sense that blood entitles a person to exercise power has generated corruption, stymied development and hampered good government.
More often than not, the progeny of political leaders fail to live up to the family name.
"If Malaysians or foreigners expect Najib to be like his father as PM, they will be greatly disappointed," said Abdullah Ahmad, a political author and a former aide to Najib's father.
Najib, who has a bachelor's degree in economics, will take over at a time when a re-energized opposition led by Anwar is seeking to gain power and when economic growth is skidding due to global financial turmoil.
Adding to his troubles, Najib will need to address Malaysia's failure to keep up with more nimble neighbors in the competitiveness and investment stakes.
Growth in Malaysia's export-oriented economy looks set to fall to 3.4 percent next year, the lowest since 2001. The budget deficit has soared due to spending on fuel subsidies and national infrastructure projects, according to the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research, a leading think-tank.
"I pity Najib. He's taking over from the worst of times and from a man who messed things up," said Abdullah Ahmad, referring to the outgoing premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Najib has been in parliament since the tender age of 22 when he took over the seat of his father, who died in office. He has held posts in the sports, education and defense ministries and now holds the powerful finance portfolio.
His father Abdul Razak Hussein designed Malaysia's race-based system which was supposed to help ethnic Malays climb the economic ladder and compete against the more entrepreneurial ethnic Chinese population. His uncle, Hussein Onn is credited with forging unity among the races during his premiership. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Also on Reuters
Analysis: How Obama went from longshot to favorite
Media groups turn on Web for election cover
Slideshow
Campaign supporters on both sides brace for nail-biting end
Editor's Choice
Pictures
Video
Articles
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Election 2008
digital tomb
Muay Thai fight
Lifestyle: Yiddish revival creates rift
Top News: Muslims seek crisis plan with Vatican
International: African albinos killed for body parts
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Obama leads McCain in 6 of 8 key states | Video
Obama's grandmother dies of cancer in Hawaii
Clues to election result could come early | Video
Study links teen pregnancy to sexy TV shows
Rare flash of anger from Obama on Halloween night
Gay marriage votes may show changing U.S.
Circuit City to shut 155 stores, mulling options
Recession rears ugly head, global auto sales shrink
Clues to U.S. election result could come early
Auto sales plunge to near 25-year lows
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Prank call catches Palin off guard
Obama and McCain battle it out
Obama's aunt is 'illegal alien'
Candidates make their final push
Flag burning on West Bank
Betting on the U.S. elections
Goma residents scramble for aid
China tangerine sales go pear-shaped
Iraqi minister hurt in blast
ANC rebels to contest elections
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Live Coverage of Election Night, 2008
Breaking news headlines
Interactive state-by-state map
Tails from the Trail blog
Reuters/Zogby tracking polls
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.