KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Bernama) -- Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi said today he had never placed on the back burner Vision 2020 conceived
by the prime minister before him, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"I had always maintained that our objective is to achieve Vision 2020. That
was what I maintained from the outset and I had never forgotten that.
"In the era immediately after independence, we gave priority to unity, but
during my time (as the prime minister), we developed human capital," he told a
news conference after launching the 20th anniversary of the Malaysian Institute
of Islamic Understanding (Ikim), here.
Abdullah said he did not understand "Mahathirism" as claimed by DAP advisor
Lim Kit Siang.
He said every leader had his own way of doing things and, as such, there was
no question of him (Abdullah) having ended "Mahathirism" because achieving
Vision 2020 was more important.
-- MORE
ABDULLAH-MAHATHIRISM 2 KUALA LUMPUR
Abdullah was asked to comment on a statement by Dr Mahathir yesterday that
Mahathirism died in 2003 after Abdullah took over as prime minister.
Dr Mahathir made the remark when debunking a claim by Lim that Mahathirism
stoked racial fears and went against decades of nation building. He said that
was just a figment of Lim''s imagination.
Abdullah said that to ensure Vision 2020 achieved its objective, he had
introduced several new missions, including that on enhancement of human capital.
Asked about his relationship with Dr Mahathir, Abdullah, who is also Ikim
chairman, said it was good although, sometimes, their opinions differed.
Earlier, Abdullah, in his speech, said children, both Muslims and
non-Muslims, should be allowed to follow the same syllabus so as to mould a
society which subscribed to mutual understanding.
-- MORE
ABDULLAH-MAHATHIRISM 3 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR
He said a solution had to be found if Muslims and non-Muslims were to
progress together.
"We want all communities to receive the same guidance without any feelings
and encumbrances due to their being from different religions," he said.
-- BERNAMA
KNAA AKT MGN