Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Friday that he has decided on a time to hand over power to his deputy, the official Bernama news agency said. He did not name a date.

Abdullah has been under pressure from within and outside his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) to resign after losses sustained by the ruling National Front coalition in March 8 elections.

UMNO is the backbone of the Front, which lost five states to the opposition and failed to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time since the country's independence in 1957.

Abdullah told reporters in the north-eastern state of Kelantan that he and deputy, Najib Razak, had "decided on the right time for me to hand over the premiership to him."

"We've no problems, and we enjoy good working relations," Abdullah was quoted as saying. "The leadership change will definitely take place at the right time."

Abdullah repeated that he would not step down before he was ready, adding that he would not "retreat" despite the losses incurred by the party during the elections.

"As fighters, we should not give up or be frustrated in pursuing our struggles for the race and religion," he said. "The disappointment terminology should not be in the warriors' dictionary.

"It's a taboo for warriors to retreat before surrendering. Warriors must continue to soldier on. If you have already surrendered, there's no point in fighting on, just wait to die." (dpa)