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He will be sworn in as PM before the King today, he said.
'I will not step down from any post because I feel no pressure,' he told reporters after hundreds of Umno supporters swarmed around his official residence.
Top leaders including Deputy PM Najib Tun Razak, Umno Women's head Rafidah Aziz and Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein were also there.
Datuk Seri Najib pledged he was fully behind PM Abdullah in facing the challenges ahead. Datuk Hishammuddin said Umno Youth backed the leadership and he saw no question of resignation as the PM had led the Barisan Nasional (BN) to victory.
Their show of support came after former premier Mahathir Mohamad yesterday called for his handpicked successor's resignation over the 'shocking' losses.
'I am sorry that I have made a wrong choice...my view is that he has destroyed Umno, BN, and is responsible for this massive defeat,' Tun Dr Mahathir told reporters.
He added that the government had been weakened and would find it hard to manage race relations. He urged PM Abdullah to step down and let Datuk Seri Najib take over.
Tun Dr Mahathir's son, Mukhriz, who won his Jerlun seat in Kedah on Saturday, also urged the PM to 'do the right thing'.
'I think it's a very clear message that there is wholesale dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister for the way he has been running the country these four years,' he said.
Umno sources said there was a feeling within the party that PM Abdullah should bear responsibility for the dismal outcome.
One Kedah Umno member told The Straits Times the mood was very sombre and anger among party members was rising.
With final results tallied, the BN held only 140 of the 222 seats in Parliament. That was about 63 per cent, sharply down from the 91 per cent it won it 2004.
The mood yesterday, however, was euphoric among Malaysians who had clamoured for change.
Leading the opposition haul was the multiracial Parti Keadilan Rakyat with 31 seats, followed by the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) with 28, and the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) with 23.
Saturday's result was even worse for the government than in 1969, when the general election was followed by bloody race riots.
To keep the situation calm, the police banned victory parades and guarded the state secretariats - the seat of state governments - in the four states that fell to the opposition.
Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said it was normal to secure the secretariats until a new government was formed.
In the four states that will see a change of government, the three opposition parties have formed coalitions and agreed on who should be chief minister.
The DAP takes the top job in Penang, Keadilan in Selangor and PAS in Perak and Kedah.
Keadilan chief and de-facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim hailed the election outcome as a 'new dawn' for the country.
But over in the Barisan, and Umno in particular, what lies ahead is likely to be instability and a possible power struggle.
Barisan is facing a 'historic crisis', said senior Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who added: 'The leadership team must wake from its slumber, face the truth and accept full responsibility for this debacle.'
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