Former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi passed away on the 14th (local time) due to heart disease. He was 85 years old.
According to the Associated Press, the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, stated that former Prime Minister Abdullah was hospitalized the previous day with breathing difficulties and received intensive care but ultimately passed away that afternoon.
Former Prime Minister Abdullah assumed office in 2003 following long-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled for 22 years starting in 1981. In the early days of his tenure, Abdullah received high support by promising reforms, moderate Islamic policies, and anti-corruption measures amid public discontent due to Mahathir's long authoritarian rule.
However, he began to be criticized for failing to properly implement his reform promises and adopting a lukewarm leadership style, leading to his early resignation in 2009 under internal pressure after his ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN), failed to secure a stable seat in the 2008 general election.
It was the first time in about 40 years that BN failed to secure more than two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly, which are necessary for a quorum to amend the constitution and secure stable seats. After resigning from the prime ministership, he retired from politics. Former Prime Minister Abdullah's son-in-law publicly revealed that the late leader had difficulty communicating due to dementia and could not recognize his family in 2022.
In his early term, in 2004 during the presidency of Roh Moo-hyun, he visited South Korea and held a South Korea-Malaysia summit, and he received an "Honorary Citizenship Certificate" from then-Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak.