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©The Star (Used by permission)
by Jane Ritikos

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will announce whether he will defend his Umno presidency by tomorrow.

The Prime Minister is expected to inform the Cabinet and leaders at the Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting, which will be held tomorrow, of his decision.

“I will decide by tomorrow (Tuesday) or Wednesday. You wait lah. Why so impatient?” he told a press conference after the third meeting of the Biotech International Advisory Panel here yesterday,

Although he did not indicate what his decision would be, Abdullah, who is also Barisan chairman, is expected to announce that he would not be defending his post during the party polls in March next year.

This is in line with the bringing forward of Umno’s transition of power plan.

Yesterday at the press conference, Abdullah declined to say what his decision would be.

When asked if he had actually made a decision, he said:

“If I tell you, then I would be announcing it now. I don’t intend to announce it now. You will have to wait. After all, two, three, four days is not too long, right?”

Abdullah was earlier asked whether he was planning to give up his post or defend it and contest against Najib since several Umno leaders had offered to contest for the deputy president’s post.

His reply was: “It is too early (to say).”

On the individuals who have announced their intention to contest the number two position, he said it was entirely up to them whether they wanted to announce it early or wait to do so after his announcement.

“Believe me, after a while some of them will drop out and in the end there may be only two, may be even only just one left,” he said.

On his focus as Prime Minister now, Abdullah said he still had work to do to fulfil the reforms he had promised in the Barisan Nasional 2004 election manifesto.

“What I promise, I must deliver,” he said.

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