Word: pm
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Thaksin returned to Thailand on Feb. 28, ending 17 months of exile that began when he was deposed in a bloodless military coup. Thousands of jubilant Thais greeted him at the airport. The former PM faces charges of corruption and abuse of power, which he has denied. But the court cases matter little to Thaksin's many supporters. Even though he has vowed to stay away from politics, a local polling center found that Thaksin is still Thailand's most popular politician. "Everyone says, 'Oh, half of Thailand hates Thaksin,'" says Soonthon Prueksapipat, a website employee who went...
...Clean. Nevertheless, many in Malaysia saw the now 68-year-old as a transitional figure, a placeholder until UMNO found someone more visionary. In January, Mahathir even claimed that he had picked Abdullah for the job on the condition that he would serve only one term - an agreement the PM denies ever having made...
...Abdullah maintains that he has "forgotten" all about Anwar, preferring instead to outline a vision of several "economic-growth corridors" that he says will transform the manufacturing and service sectors. (One corridor happens to run through Abdullah's hometown, Kepala Batas.) The PM points to rising rural incomes as proof that his economic policies are working. Placating farmers is particularly important given that rural Malaysia is the National Front's core constituency. And even in the urban areas, Abdullah's renowned blandness could actually help him. "The thing about him is that no one hates him," says Liew Chin Tong...
...Still, even PAS's Kepala Batas candidate, Subri Arshad, doesn't believe he'll trump Abdullah. All he hopes for is to lower the PM's margin of victory. But if Kepala Batas entrepreneurs like Lee Peir Jye are any indication, Abdullah has little need for concern. "It doesn't matter if it's Abdullah or someone else," says the mobile phone-shop owner. "As long as we support the government, there will be stability, and that's good for business." Not a ringing hometown endorsement, but it's all Malaysia's accidental Prime Minister needs...
...Says Sorry" on the cover of TIME. Not that it is wrong to say sorry for injustices when they have occurred. However, there is no proof that the "stolen generations" were actually stolen from their families. Authorities in Australia have been unable to name even 10 stolen children. New PM Rudd has grabbed at an opportunity to get global attention by blaming Australians for injustices that are a myth. Former PM John Howard expressed regret but did not say "sorry" because there was, and still is, no proof that Aboriginal children were stolen. Welfare organizations only removed children from situations...