Published on: Thursday, October 19, 2006 |
PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday he was ready to meet Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad before Hari Raya Aidilfitri to listen to the former Prime Minister's views on his leadership.
The Prime Minister said he hoped the meeting, the first between them after Dr Mahathir openly criticised him since early this year, "will be for the good all all".
Abdullah said no conditions were set for the four-eyed meeting. "This is a meeting between the both of us. It is not necessary to have a third party," he told reporters after meeting Thailand's new Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont who had called on him at his office, here.
The date or place of the meeting was not revealed. Hari Raya Aidilfitri is expected to fall next Tuesday.
Abdullah said he would not raise any issue at the meeting with Dr Mahathir. The meeting has come about following a suggestion by Mubarak, the council of former elected representatives, to ease the tension in the relationship between the two men.
Dr Mahathir, who spoke to reporters in Langkawi on Tuesday, said he was ready to meet the Prime Minister before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Tension developed in the relationship between the two men after Dr Mahathir openly criticised the leadership of Abdullah, including the latter's decision to cancel the proposed bridge to replace the Johor Causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore, and the issue of Approved Permits (APs) for import of vehicles.
Asked whether he was hopeful that all the criticism directed at him would cease following the meeting, Abdullah said: "God willing."
Abdullah also confirmed that attempts made for them to meet earlier failed owing to a lack of suitable dates.
Dr Mahathir reportedly said on Tuesday that he would raise again the issues that he has been keeping in his heart since he left the Government. - Bernama
