KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 —The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah has paid tribute to former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his efforts in enhancing integrity in this country.

He noted that one of the first things that Abdullah did as prime minister was to set up the Malaysian Institute of Integrity in 2004 and sought to  establish a body now called the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission.

“Abdullah also sought to strengthen what was formerly known as the Anti-Corruption Agency by empowering it further to become the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission,” he said when launching the book ‘Being Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’ written by former group chief editor of The Star, Datuk Wong Sulong here today.

Sultan Nazrin said Abdullah came into office with the ‘Mr Nice Guy’ and ‘Mr Clean’ image.

Abdullah’s early efforts such as the setting up of the integrity institute and his National Integrity Plan struck a chord with voters and the ordinary man on the street.

“The accounts of the measures taken by Tun Abdullah are well documented by the writer, Datuk Wong Sulong, and take the reader through the difficulties of leadership, especially in a multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia.”

Sultan Nazrin noted Abdullah faced challenges as he went about instilling integrity within the system, including the civil service and enforcement agencies.

Two things which came to mind when Abdullah became prime minister were his taglines of ‘walking the talk’ and being the ‘leader of all Malaysians’.

“These promises resonated with the people and they showed their approval at the ballot box.”

He said Abdullah notched up his successes and was frank where he misjudged and where he made mistakes. — Bernama

Resource : The Star Online