By : JESWAN KAUR
THE ON-GOING debate in the
Pakatan Rakyat camp on who can best lead the country should the opposition win
in the coming 13th general election is a disaster in the making.
For one, there is no
consensus among the Pakatan members on who is deserving of the premiership mantle.
PAS believes its president, Abdul Hadi Awang, meets the pre-requisites of a
prime minister while DAP says it backs former deputy prime
minister-turned-Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
To have dissenting voices in
the Pakatan fold on who is the preferred choice to helm Malaysia is giving its
arch-rival Barisan Nasional the much-needed fodder to further discredit the
opposition in the eyes of the rakyat.
The people have in the
aftermath of the 2008 general election learned to be more selective in their
choice of who really is deserving of their trust and support to call the shots
from Putrajaya.
But for now, it is important
that Pakatan pulls the brake and puts a stop to the “Abdul Hadi Awang vs Anwar
Ibrahim as PM” speculation.
What is more urgent is the
need to stay united and leave no room for BN to infiltrate and subvert
Pakatan’s efforts in staying in the good books of the people.
Whether it is Hadi or Anwar
or Lim Guan Eng, for that matter, is not the issue; the point that needs to be
driven home is that the premiership is not for the popular but instead is an
arduous responsibility that requires the right aptitude.
Hence, the need for Pakatan
to take a good and hard look at who is the right candidate for the job.
Does Pakatan have the answer
as to which candidate is the perfect pick? Are the names that are being
mentioned truly deserving or is it a case of “popular appeal”?
Pakatan needs to think hard
Should Pakatan outdo BN in
the 13th general election and land in Putrajaya, the rakyat will in no way
tolerate any BN-like shenanigans by the opposition.
With that in mind, Pakatan
must be very sure whom it wants to place in the premier’s chair.
Is Anwar the right
candidate, despite the many controversies surrounding him? Or is it the scholarly
Hadi whom the rakyat can depend on to navigate the nation to greater heights?
For now, with time still on
its hands, the opposition has to double up efforts in sustaining the rakyat’s
trust in it, instead of politicking and appearing disinterested and disunited.
Maybe that is why former
prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad seized the opportunity to take a swipe at
Pakatan and its over-enthusiasm in name-dropping for the premiership.
As usual, taking liberty
with his words, Mahathir says even the former Tiger of Jelutong and DAP
chairman and no-nonsense lawyer Karpal Singh will be gunning to become the next
prime minister.
Sounding callous as ever,
Mahathir, who thus far holds the record for being Malaysia’s longest- serving
premier, is implying that greed for power has become the order of the day in
Pakatan’s fold.
“Let Karpal be the PM. He,
after all, has fought for so long. And when he retires, Karpal will receive the
Tun title,” was how Mahathir put it.
Serving the rakyat, not
thyself
Mahathir’s sarcasm is
troubling for it points to the fact that politicians have no interest in
serving the rakyat and are only on the lookout for self-gratification, that is,
aiming for honorifics.
Here, who better to prove
him wrong than the Pakatan pact, provided the members speak in one voice,
giving the rakyat the assurance that they have what it takes to govern the
nation.
In this regard, it will be
in Pakatan’s best interest to learn from the mistakes of BN which, despite
having led the country since independence, failed to clean up its act and
continued to remain arrogant, until its unexpected losses in 2008.
For the rakyat’s sake,
remember that the prime minister’s seat does not “belong” to any one particular
person. It is a duty and obligation to steer the country in the “right”
direction, serving only the interest of the people.
Until then, it is wise for
Pakatan to focus on the many tasks at hand and put “who best be PM”
speculations to rest. (FMT)
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