Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dies, aged 85

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hailed Abdullah’s accomplishments. 

“Pak Lah taught us the meaning of humanity in leadership,” he said in a Facebook post, adding that the former prime minister was not just a leader, but also a person with a “big heart”. 

Anwar noted that Abdullah was always the calming presence amid the tumult of politics, and always extended courtesy even when they were in opposing camps. 

“That’s how big the soul of a great statesman is,” he said. 

PAK LAH

Abdullah was born in Penang in 1939. He was the eldest child of four children to Khailan Hassan and Ahmad Badawi, a prominent religious and political figure in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party.

Abdullah, a scholar in Islamic studies at the University of Malaya, began his career as a diplomatic officer and civil servant in 1964. The following year, he married Endon Mahmood with whom he had two children.

He entered politics in 1966, but took on a more active role in UMNO after his father’s death in 1977.

In 1978, he ran for a parliamentary seat in the Kepala Batas constituency in his home state and won by a majority of 5,029 votes.

Three years later, he was appointed to the Cabinet under Mahathir, serving as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

He would go on to hold several more Cabinet roles under Mahathir. Abdullah was named as deputy prime minister in 1999, following the shock ouster of Mahathir’s previous deputy, Anwar, who in 1998 was charged with corruption and sodomy. Critics say the charges were politically motivated.

In 2003, Mahathir stepped down, and Abdullah, his handpicked successor, became Malaysia’s fifth prime minister.

In general elections held the following year, Abdullah received widespread support, campaigning on a vow to attack poverty and to eliminate the cronyism and corruption that had been a byword of Mahathir’s long tenure.

He also espoused a moderate version of Islam that aimed for economic and technological progress over religious fundamentalism. But he came under public criticism for his review of fuel subsidies that saw a sharp spike in prices.