BANGI (13 Feb, 2008): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has brushed off rumours that today’s cabinet meeting will be the last before the coming 12th general election, saying there will be more meetings to come.

He also discounted the possibility that Parliament will be dissolved today, as speculated by some pundits, since “13” is supposed to be his favourite number.

“What makes you think it is going to be the last cabinet meeting? There will be more, and more, and more cabinet meetings after this,” he said to reporters at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) here yesterday.

Abdullah looks at the writings of Syeikh Abdullah Fahim, his grandfather, while UKM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Sharifah Syed Hasan Shahabudin (right) and UKM dakwah and leadership studies Associate Prof Dr Zulkefli Abd Ghani look on.

Asked about the dissolution of Parliament, he said with a laugh: “No, it is not tomorrow (Wednesday).”

On Sunday in Butterworth, commenting on the talk that Parliament would be dissolved today, Abdullah said this was a possibility, adding: “It is up to you if you want to connect it or not.”

In a related development, he said candidates for the forthcoming elections will only be picked among those cleared by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

“To determine the list of candidates, I will get a report from the ACA first. I will see whether they have been cleared or not.

This includes those serving or just nominated. ACA will give me the report,” he said. “Previously, there were cases where the candidates’ names were in the ACA’s file, or investigations were still being carried out against them. I will not pick these people.”

On Sunday, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo was reported as saying that some of the existing representatives were not cleared by ACA.

Abdullah said he would not give the names of potential candidates to ACA to check because it may result in the names being leaked out but he will just ask the agency to check

“It is not a difficult thing for the ACA to check. They have the names in their record. We just countercheck with them,” he said.

Abdullah was also asked to comment on Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan’s statement in an interview with RTM1 that he was “shy” to meet Abdullah to bring up Cuepacs’ request for a RM2,000 honorarium for all civil servants.

To this, he said he will meet Mohd Sidek himself to discuss the matter. Asked whether he was ready to meet Cuepacs president Omar Osman, he said: “If he wants, he can meet me but I am busy now.

Furthermore, bonus or other similar issues are not related to elections.” Earlier, Abdullah launched UKM’s Institute of Islam Hadhari, the Syeikh Abdullah Fahim Chair, the Tun Abdullah Mohd Salleh Complex and a book on the biography of Tun Abdullah. He also presented RM5
million to the institute.

Abdullah Mohd Salleh, a former chief secretary to the government and Petronas executive chairman, was the first registrar to initiate the formation of UKM in 1970.