ABDULLAH TO BRIEF BN LEADERS ON TRANSITION PLAN AFTER AIDILFITRI

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday that he would set a date after Hari Raya Aidilfitri for a meeting with leaders of National Front (Barisan Nasional) (BN) component parties to brief them on the leadership transition plan.

"When we meet ... we will have discussions ... after (Hari) Raya
(Aidilfitri)," he told reporters at the Aidilfitri open house of the prime
minister and other Muslim Cabinet ministers at the Putra World Trade Centre
(PWTC), here.

He was asked to comment on a news report that some BN leaders were
unhappy for not having been consulted on a change in the transition
plan.

Under the original plan, Abdullah, the Umno president, was to have
handed over power to Deputy Prime Minister and Umno Deputy President Najib Tun
Razak in June 2010.

However, it was decided later that the transition of power take place
earlier than that date, and the Umno general assembly scheduled for December
this year has been postponed to March next year to facilitate this.

Abdullah, when announcing the postponement of the Umno general assembly,
had
said that he would make a decision by Oct 9 on seeking re-election as party
president.

Umno divisional meetings will be held over a month from Oct 9, and
nominations will be made for the posts of party president, deputy president,
vice-presidents and supreme council members.
At the Aidilfitri reception Wednesday, Abdullah said he had conveyed the
decision on the transition plan to some of the BN leaders informally when he met
them but that a proper briefing for all BN leaders would be held after Hari Raya
Aidilfitri.

Asked whether he was sad that this could be his last Hari Raya Aidilfitri as
the prime minister now that the transition plan was being brought forward,
Abdullah said he was happy as usual.

"I am in a good mood. I am celebrating Raya. Do I look different?" he said
with a smile.
On the Aidilfitri open house, Abdullah said the size of the crowd was
similar to last year's and he hoped that people would take advantage of the
festival to make visits to open house.

Abdullah said Aidilfitri had become a national event, an enjoyable occasion
for everyone.

Speaking during interviews with Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) and TV3, he
said: "The visitors are from all races. We have tourists and foreigners too. The
spirit of Raya is there and it (the festival) is being celebrated by all the
races."

The prime minister said Malaysians must utilise festivals like Aidilfitri
to
strengthen unity among the various races by visiting one another.

"This will directly strengthen our unity. We should be united not only
during festivals but at all times. We can organise more events which attract a
multi-racial crowd and this will foster better understanding among the races,"
he said.

Meanwhile, Najib, interviewed by the two television stations at the same
open house, said the current global economic crisis had not in any way dampened
the spirit of Hari Raya.

"We need not be unduly worried about the economy because our fundamentals
are good and I see that the global economic problem has not affected the Hari
Raya celebrations," said Najib, who is also the finance minister.

He said that while the world economy was undergoing various problems,
Malaysia was well insulated due to its fundamentals.

"We do not expect a major backlash from the global economic crisis. There
will be a backlash but it would not be major, as experienced by many other
nations," he added.