That about sums up the view of the man on the street - that Malaysia's corrupt, pork-barrel system would survive any one man, even a prime minister sincere in wanting change.

Mr Abdullah's rise to power in October 2003, with promises to bring about change, had raised hopes among voters.

Within weeks of taking power, Mr Abdullah had levelled charges of corruption against a serving minister and a prominent tycoon close to Dr Mahathir.

He promised action against 18 more VIPs - but did not follow through with it.

He promised a new and energetic cabinet - but more than half its members remain Mahathir-era veterans previously caught up in one corruption scandal or another.

Mr Abdullah did set up a royal commission to revamp the corrupt police force, and while the commission initially made headlines with its investigations it has since vanished from public view.

A planned 'National Integrity Institute' and a plan to combat corruption nationwide remain just that - plans.

And when Mr Abdullah tried to streamline and make profitable large government-linked corporations, by instituting management reshuffles and a new yardstick to measure success, he met strong resistance.

'It's like he pushed back the dark clouds and made some headway but then the system pushed back and wiped out the gains,' said political scientist Ramasamy Palanisamy of the National University of Malaysia. 'Abdullah is sincere about reforms but the pork-barrel system he presides over won't let him succeed.

'It is really naive to expect the deeply entrenched system not to resist ... or even dethrone [Mr Abdullah] if need be.'

He said Mr Abdullah's biggest success so far had been a less inhibited judiciary. 'Everything else is largely a-la-Mahathir.'

The gulf between Mr Abdullah's promises and delivery came into sharp focus in an interview Dr Mahathir gave to a mass-circulation newspaper on Sunday.

The former prime minister's interview - called to defend national carmaker Proton Holdings against reforms, and its Mahathir-era chief executive against removal - has lent credence to speculation he is unhappy in retirement and upset with his successor's plans. Political analysts read the interview as a thinly disguised indictment of Mr Abdullah's reform moves.

'At one time, Malays could not make matchboxes but now they make and sell cars and even airplanes,' Dr Mahathir boasted in the interview, stressing how his push to embrace heavy industry had transformed the Malay race.

Mr Abdullah's emphasis on agriculture, health and welfare, and his moves to rationalise government-linked corporations was causing tension between the two men, opposition politician Tian Chua said.

'The Sunday interview and earlier controversies all show Dr Mahathir is unwilling to hand over real power to Abdullah,' said the vice-president of the National Justice Party. 'Dr Mahathir loyalists are everywhere ... in Abdullah's cabinet, the government and business circles.'

He said even Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is seen as Dr Mahathir's proxy and as the prime-minister-in-waiting.

Foreign investors, free-trade negotiators and diplomats privately express unease at the hesitancy and discord within Mr Abdullah's administration as it fluctuates on key policies because of pressure to maintain the status quo.

Nevertheless, Mr Abdullah remains popular with the common man, thanks to his plain speaking, and down-to-earth manners - even if he fails in his reforms.

'I think Abdullah has now realised it is no easy task reforming a deeply corrupt system, especially when there is opposition from within your own party and government,' Dr Ramasamy said.