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KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says he is partly to blame for the ruling party's recent election losses amid mounting calls for his resignation, according to reports Saturday.
Abdullah said he would discuss a transition of power to his deputy by year-end but that no deadline has been set.
His admission comes after the opposition denied the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)-led ruling coalition a two-thirds parliamentary majority and seized control of five states in Barisan Nasional's worst-ever poll performance in the March 8 elections.
Former premier Mahathir Mohamad has been calling for the prime minister's ouster with an increasing number of party members supporting the move.
"I'm partly to blame," Abdullah told reporters, referring to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition's poor election performance, the Star daily reported, after a meeting with Southern Johor state party leaders.
This week, there have been calls by party leaders in the northern states of Kedah and Penang for Abdullah to hand over power to his deputy Najib Razak.
"There have been demands... it does not matter that they want to express themselves on the matter of stepping down," he told the Bernama news agency.
"I am not one who is going to retain the leadership forever," he added.
Party vice president Muhyiddin Yassin said Abdullah told the gathering he will discuss a transition of power to Najib by the end of the year.
"The period of transition and so on were not mentioned in detail," he told Bernama.
Last week, Abdullah announced he would be handing over power to his deputy when he stepped down but gave no details. - AFP/ir
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