The next Prime Minister of Malaysia - well, ultimately it will be the member of Parliament(MP) that has the confidence of the majority of the MPs.
So, Pakatan Harapan and other Opposition parties should not be wasting time and trying to name who their Prime Ministerial candidate will be?
Personally, if the Opposition do win, I would prefer a new person to be Prime Minister - someone who is NOT an ex-Prime Minister(previously from UMNO), ex-Deputy Prime Minister(previously from UMNO)...or someone who has long been a Minister or leader in UMNO-BN...WHY? The worry is that they may already be to influenced by the UMNO-BN way of doing things ...and as such we may end up with same 'UMNO-BN type' of 'new' Prime Minister, although he or she is coming from an Opposition party now...
I would prefer a NEW person...someone untainted...
Secondly, I would prefer it not to be a President or a Secretary General of the political parties....WHY? Because, political parties, even if they win the elections, still needs to be an effective check and balance on the new Prime Minister, Menteri Besar or Chief Minister. When the party leader, is the PM, MB or CM - then the party will not serve as an effective check and balance...of the PM and the government?
Being a PRIME MINISTER is not that difficult - there really is no need for past experience of being a Prime Minister or Deputy or Cabinet Minister. Any MP, with capability, can become a PM --- and, after all, besides the civil service to assist, he can also get help/advice from past PM, DPMs, Ministers and politicians who know ...
In other countries, often we have heard of new parties winning elections, and 'new' persons with no past experience of governing being able to be good Prime Ministers. Look at Malaysia, when the Opposition won at the States, people like Lim Guan Eng(with no past experience of governing a State)...even Khalid Ibrahim, Nik Aziz...all were able to be effective Menteri Besars and Chief Ministers of the State.
We want the best person to be the Prime Minister - someone clean and untainted. What about Charles Santiago, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Hannah Yeoh, Husam Musa, ...should we not just wait for the General Elections and see who wins, and let the elected Members of Parliament(in consultation with the people - not the party leadership only) decide on the most suitable candidate for PM. If he/she who is chosen fails to do a good job, just change the PM - the power really lies with the MPs - hence the people.
The Opposition parties really must focus on their NEW policies and the changes that they are going to make in the style/priorities of the current government....and here, we have a problem still and it is still not clear for many aspects - Employment, Public Transport,Agriculture, Taxation, Privatisation, Environment, Administration of Justice,Local Council Elections, Democratic elections at kampung/Tamans,....
Some Opposition parties are just 'too scared' to suggest new ideaS - choosing rather to assure the electorate that they will continue the same old UMNO-BN policies...BR1M, Income Tax,...even the 'Bumiputra' policy?
What is 'Bumiputra' policy? It is an UMNO-BN creation...
Remember that our Federal Constitution provides for preferential treatment of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak only. The 'Bumiputra' policy, however extends this to other ethnic groups...
Was the preferential treatment in our Constitution not ONLY meant for those who were already in Malaysia when independence was achieved or the Malaysian agreement was signed?
Are there persons now who did not qualify then, now suddenly enjoying these benefits as they have subsequently become Malays or natives of Sabah and Sarawak? An Indonesian, who came over to Malaysia may have been granted PR status...but his/her children are all Malaysian citizens...and the government considered them 'Malays' - should these new 'Malays' be enjoying the privileges accorded to Malay and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak in the Federal Constitution?
Was the preferential treatment meant to just flow to some individuals who are Malay(or natives of Sabah and Sarawak) or was it meant to flow to benefit ALL persons, especially the poor and marginalized? If we look at the Malays, for example, many Malays are still very poor...and their economic status as individuals and families have not much improved, whilst at the other hand a few from the same group of the 'qualified' have become rich...and richer...
The objective of the preferential treatment, was, in my opinion, for the purpose of socio-economic upliftment of the target target group - the individuals and families - not just a few individuals ...
So, what is the position of the various Opposition parties...and more importantly also the position of their respective candidates that will be wooing the votes of Malaysians - The character and the stance of prospective candidates is most important...Recently, PKR SG objected to the fact that there were non-Muslim COO and Secretaries in IMAMS Sdn Bhd
PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution had in a statement earlier today questioned the presence of a non-Muslim COO in Imams Sdn Bhd. Citing the company's records, he also noted that it employed three Chinese secretaries.One of the secretaries is MCA Kuantan Youth chief Lee Chai Wah (photo), who confirmed this when contacted. - see full post -IMAM - Mas Ermieyati Samsudin must resign? So too PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution?
Well, personally, I may not want Saifuddin Nasution to be Prime Minister, or even in the Cabinet, in the event the Opposition wins...that is why, we need to know about the position of also the potential individual candidates.
At the end of the day, I would be in favour of not naming someone with a past in UMNO-BN Cabinet, or any of the current political party top leaders as Prime Minister candidates, if and when the Opposition wins. I would prefer, we leave it to the Members of Parliament and the people to decide after the upcoming General Elections...MPs musty act in accordance to their conscience - not because of promise of monies or benefits OR 'orders' of their party - for, what ultimately matters is the well being of Malaysian individual and families - not simply just Malaysia.
Now the current government talks about a 'high income nation' - not so much a higher income Malaysian worker, individual or family...Is the Opposition preaching the same?
Remember the MEDIA may be highlighting certain individuals in their reporting, but really the people may prefer some other, some person that the media has provided little space...In this sense, the media has done dis-service to Malaysians - and we really may not know all the available good options for PM or even a MP?
Harapan may announce PM candidate next month
Pakatan Harapan is expected to name its candidate for prime minister next month, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
He said the candidate will be replacing the coalition's majority
choice for prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, as he is still behind bars.
"Our choice is of course for Anwar to be prime minister, but he is still in prison, so that is impossible.
"So we have to have a different candidate. A choice will be made, and
we hope to announce it next month," he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.
During a retreat earlier this month, it was reported that Harapan had
suggested its chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad become prime minister on
an interim basis with PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as deputy
premier.
Both PKR and Mahathir have insisted that the proposal was not final.
Anwar is serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted of sodomy.
He is expected to be released on good behaviour sometime next year, but will still be ineligible to run for Parliament.- Malaysiakini, 18/12/2017
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