Also today, police released an opposition lawmaker who was detained last week along with two other people under a law allowing indefinite detention. The arrests had intensified the climate of political restlessness in the country.
An aide to Najib denied he was postponing his overseas tour because of politics, saying Najib wants to remain in Malaysia over the next week to tackle his new job as finance minister.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi relinquished his finance ministry portfolio to Najib on Wednesday as part of a protracted power hand-over. Abdullah has promised to step down before 2010 amid escalating demands from his ruling party for his swift retirement.
Najib had been slated to leave Malaysia today to visit Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and New York, but he cancelled the Middle East leg and will only head for New York on Sept 24 for the UN General Assembly meeting, said an aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to make public statements.
"There are no political ramifications," the aide said. "He just felt that because of the current (global) economic climate, he should hit the ground running since he has just been appointed as the finance minister."
Najib's decision came a day after the ruling party's top officials held a meeting in which Abdullah was apparently urged to speed up his exit.
International Trade Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the officials gave "no specific date" for Abdullah to hand over power, but presented "our views and that of the grassroots who want it to be done as soon as possible."
Abdullah's support has slumped since he led the Barisan Nasional governing coalition to its worst electoral results ever in March national polls, when Anwar's opposition alliance captured one-third of Parliament and took control of five of Malaysia's 13 states.
Anwar's Pakatan Rakyat now has 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament, compared to the BN’s 138. Anwar claims he has pledges of loyalty from enough government lawmakers to topple the coalition that has led Malaysia since 1957.
Anwar has called for an emergency Parliament session on Tuesday to hold a vote of no confidence in the government. Abdullah has rejected the call saying Anwar can wait until Oct 13 when Parliament ends its recess.
Meanwhile, police released DAP MP Teresa Kok after one week in detention without charges, said lawyer Sankara Nair. — AP
