Seems like no one can replace Najib
As things stand, there’s no real choice for an alternative PM.
What does it mean when a veteran journalist, someone who probably knows a lot about what lies beneath the surface of our politics, declines to answer when asked who he thought the successor to Najib Razak should be?
Even Kadir Jasin, one of Najib’s fiercest critics, has no answer to give those who are asking that pertinent question, and that bodes ill for the ruling party as well as the nation. Mahathir Mohamad has tried to place the crown on former DPM Muhyiddin Yassin, who still holds the post of Umno Deputy President. But Muhyiddin has failed or is unwilling to convince the rakyat that he is the man. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will not be contesting in the next general election. Mahathir himself, to be realistic, is too old to take the reins again despite some calls from among his supporters.
The current Umno leadership provides no solution to that dilemma either. By tradition, Muhyiddin should follow as the next party president and thus become Prime Minister. However, he has fallen out of favour, and the man presumably closest to power is current Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi. There are other big names like Hishamuddin Hussein and Nazri Aziz, but as far as Prime Minister material goes, Umno is bereft and bankrupt of candidates who could seize the public’s imagination.
And then we come to the Opposition, which is once again putting forward its imprisoned figurehead as the only valid candidate for Prime Minister if and when Najib’s reign ends. The Opposition would do well to promote the names of younger leaders like Rafizi Ramli or Saifuddin Abdullah, to name just two of quite a few. The true potential of the opposition lies in the young supporters that have swelled its ranks since 2008, and it must make a concerted effort to leverage on this significant advantage.
If we’re honest with ourselves, there is no real choice for a PM alternative as things stand. No one has even come forward to make a case for himself or herself as someone we should back as the eventual leader of the country. That is disappointing. It indicates that there’s nobody who has enough confidence in himself to show he can lead the nation out of its sorry state.
For as long as there are no clear candidates, the fence-sitters will remain fence-sitters no matter how bad the news gets. We need real leaders to stand up and be counted.
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GE14 is looking to be one of the most sordid affairs in our history although a mere eight years ago, we welcomed a new, exciting era in Malaysian politics. People vote for leaders. Claiming to be one of many is not enough. It’s time for somebody to stake a claim to the role of Prime Minister for the sake of the nation.