United States President George W. Bush has described Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's leadership as a very constructive force for Southeast Asia, according to Malaysian News Agency Bernama. He said Malaysia was an interesting example of how a free society could deal with movements that could conceivably change and alter the nature of the free society. Malaysia celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence today. "I respect the way the prime minister has used freedom and the openness of society to deal with frustration. I mean, all societies have frustrated people. “The question is will the outlet of that frustration lead to violence or peace," Bush said in a rare roundtable Thursday with five journalists from Asia Pacific, including Bernama. "Malaysia is an example of a country where frustrations have been channelled in a positive way.
