Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday that he might resign before a previously set deadline of 2010 when he is to hand over power to his deputy.

Abdullah, who has been facing mounting pressure from within his own ruling party to resign, said he would hand over his portfolio as finance minister to his deputy Najib Razak, and take on the smaller defence ministry from Najib.

Abdullah, who has promised to step down in June 2010, declined to give further details of a more definite time frame for his resignation.

"The timing is flexible. It is possible, if I may want to leave earlier but not beyond 2010," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the official Bernama agency.

He said the portfolio changes were aimed at gradually handing over greater responsibilities to Najib as part of a planned power transfer.

Abdullah has been fighting off calls by dissidents in his United Malays National Organization for him to resign, following the ruling National Front coalition's blistering losses in the country's March general elections.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim led a three-party alliance to deny the Front a two-thirds majority in Parliament and wrest control of five states. The opposition now holds 82 seats out of 222 in Parliament.

The ruling party's election performance was the worst in the history of its 50-year rule, and Abdullah's leadership style was blamed for the losses.

The premier has also recently had to face threats of a takeover by Anwar, who claimed Tuesday that he now had more than 31 defecting government lawmakers to make up a majority in Parliament. (dpa)