ATTACK ON ABDULLAH ATTACKS Government By CONSENSUS; MCA & GERAKAN EXPRESSED Chinese Confidence in ABDULLAH DENY Dr M Contrary Views.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah coming out with a statement that he laid great emphasis on collective decision making in the cabinet and in the BN meetings imply that any personal attacks on him by Dr Mahathir for his decisions would be an attack on his whole cabinet and the BN as there is a clear consensus position reached by the Cabinet and the Barisan National component parties group as a whole.
In recent days, the cabinet members & State leaders have come out in clear support for the Prime Minister and are continuing to do so.
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I Prioritise Consensus, Says Abdullah; October 27, 2006 19:01 PM

AIR KEROH, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Friday he gives priority to consensus when making decisions. "In the cabinet, in the Barisan Nasional supreme council there are views that differ from mine but I give priority to consensus when making decisions. "When a decision has been made it's a collective decision. That makes it easier for us to implement... this is my way," he said at the Melaka Aidilfitri Open House with the Prime Minister at the Melaka International Trade Centre here. Present were Melaka Chief Minister Seri Mohamed Ali Rustam, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Fong Chan Onn and community leaders. Over 5,000 people attended the open house.
Abdullah said this when asked about his one-on-one meeting with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at Seri Perdana, Putrajaya, last Sunday. He said he did not reply to Dr Mahathir's criticisms because he wanted to give his predecessor a chance to express his feelings on the administration of the government under his (Abdullah's) leadership. "I wanted to reply but I didn't want to interrupt because eventually he would say that I'm wrong. So I waited for him to stop talking before commenting one by one on the issues ranging from the police state, Umno, family interference and the economy to the crooked bridge," he said. Abdullah said he wanted to say "many things" to Dr Mahathir at the meeting but had to stop because of the limited time of only two hours.
"I was a bit dissatisfied but as for giving him the opportunity to speak, I'm satisfied," he said. Abdullah also said at the open house that there was more press freedom in the country compared with several Asean countries like Singapore and Thailand. Referring to the "5th Annual Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index", he said Malaysia's ranking had improved. "That's the view of outsiders. They are constantly assessing us in terms of competitiveness, quality, human rights and press freedom," he said. The latest index ranked Malaysia at 92nd spot out of the 158 countries polled, up 21 notches from 113th place last year.= = = = =
MCA Denies Dr Mahathir's Allegations Over Chinese Support; October 26, 2006 22:53 PM
MUAR, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- The MCA Thursday denied allegations by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Chinese businessmen in the country did not support the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. MCA Vice-President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said that, on the contrary, Chinese businessmen had described Abdullah as a leader who was democratic and transparent in administering the country. "They say the prime minister is a leader who is willing to listen to whatever grievances and appeals the people have. I am confident Abdullah's leadership will convince Chinese businessmen to continue to support the Barisan Nasional (BN) government led by him," he said.

Dr Chua, who is also Health Minister, was asked to comment on the matter by reporters at the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house of Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman in Sungai Mati, here. He said that based on the feedback received following the setting up of MCA's Malaysian Corporate Council recently, Chinese businessmen's support for the government had grown stronger. "As a result of the meeting between the council and the prime minister, which we arranged recently, Datuk Seri Abdullah personally pledged to solve the problems that they had been raised in stages," he said.
According to Dr Chua, the business community worldwide and not only in Malaysia is facing the pressures of competition as a result of globalisation and trade in a borderless world.

In Malaysia, he said, companies faced the problem of a labour shortage which caused the cost of doing business to rise. "But to say that they do not support the government as alleged by Tun Dr Mahathir, it is not true," he said, adding that the Chinese businessmen in fact welcomed having dialogue with the prime minister from time to time to resolve issues, including those that had been brought to the attention of the prime minister much earlier.

In KEPALA BATAS, Gerakan deputy president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon also denied that Chinese businessmen were running away and investing in China. Dr Koh, who is also Penang Chief Minister, said the claims made by Dr Mahathir were not true as many businessmen had actually expanded their wings by investing overseas. "Since the early '90s, local Chinese businessman had expanded to China at the urging of Dr Mahathir himself for Malaysians to get involved in projects abroad," he told reporters after attending Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Hari Raya open house here. He said the same thing was happening to Malay and Indian businessmen who had gone on to invest in India and other countries in Africa, which only proved that Dr Mahathir's claims were not accurate. Dr Koh also said that the Penang BN would continue supporting Abdullah in leading the nation and to achieve the national mission.

"We are deeply saddened and regret the remarks by Dr Mahathir," he said.
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Favourable Feedback On PM's Reply To Dr M, Says Melaka CM; October 27, 2006 21:53 PM
MELAKA, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said Friday he has received favourable feedback from the people on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's reply Thursday to the criticism made by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He also said that the people shared with the prime minister his feeling of disappointment over the criticism hurled by Dr Mahathir at his leadership. Abdullah had described as "doses of venom" the continued criticism by Dr Mahathir of the government, particularly following their one-on-one meeting last Sunday.

"The feedback that I have received on Pak Lah's statement made in Kepala Batas yesterday after the people had watched television and read today's newspapers favours Pak Lah," Mohd Ali said at the Hari Raya Aidilfitri reception of the prime minister with the people at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), here.
Mohd Ali said every decision adopted by the government was based on the concept of consensus at party as well as Cabinet level. "The people of Melaka as well as of the whole country give their support to Pak Lah, and this is evident from the huge turnout at the Hari Raya receptions," he said. Mohd Ali, who is Umno vice-president, said he and other leaders would continue to counter the baseless accusations and allegations hurled by Dr Mahathir. He also said that it was hoped that Dr Mahathir would return to a harmonious relationship with the current leadership as the people desired.
In BACHOK, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said Dr Mahathir's continuing criticism of Abdullah and government policies could weaken the Malays and Muslims. He said a statesman of Dr Mahathir's stature should not resort to open criticism but hold transparent discussions so that the solidarity and self-esteem of the Malays were not jeopardised. Dr Mahathir should wait for the explanation by the prime minister before making any more criticisms because such action affected the credibility of the government, he told Bernama when approached at his Hari Raya Aidilfitri reception. Dr Awang Adek, who is an Umno Supreme Council member, said the people would not accept such criticism easily but were confident of the policies implemented by the prime minister for their well-being.

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