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Putrajaya: Malaysia's prime minister says he will seek re-election as ruling party leader in December while continuing his reform programme, brushing off growing demands to step down immediately.
"I will not be retiring before December. I will be contesting for the post of party president," Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters on Sunday.
The comments sent a clear signal to his detractors that he would not leave power anytime soon despite presiding over crushing losses for his ruling party in the March general elections.
Public anger over rising fuel and food prices has also intensified pressure on him to step down.
Last week, Badawi spoke of his decision to hand over power to his deputy Najib Razak.
But he clarified on Sunday that no timeframe had been set for the power transfer and that he intended to contest the polls in December for the presidency of the United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO.
Asked when he would step down after the UMNO polls, he said, "That could be anytime, but not in one or two or three months."
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