Abdullah Badawi: Mr Nice Guy leaves legacy of compassion, but failed to escape Mahathir’s shadow

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s fifth prime minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,

died on April 14

, his son-in-law and former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in an Instagram post. The former premier had been suffering from dementia in the last few years. He was 85.

The soft-spoken politician was prime minister for 5½ years from October 2003, taking over from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who at that point had led the country for a record 22 years from 1981.