The purpose of politicians is to save the nation, not their respective careers, says former law minister Zaid Ibrahim.
“All of us want to be prime minister or deputy prime minister, but if you care about this country, and you want to save the country for your grandchildren, it is not just about changing prime ministers.
“It is about making fundamental changes that only brave and principled people are capable of doing,” Zaid added in a blog posting today.
He was responding to the issue of who would become the prime minister if the opposition seized federal power in the next general election.
“Recently, Pakatan Harapan announced a plan to name its cabinet line-up early in 2017, with DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang adding some urgency to the matter by saying that (PKR president) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was the choice for prime minister.
“On another front, I heard on the grapevine that (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president) Muhyiddin Yassin (photo) was lobbying hard to be prime minister with (PKR deputy president Azmin Ali as his deputy,” he claimed.
Zaid said the ambition of certain leaders had resulted in strange political alliances, such as Bersatu being desperate to collaborate with PAS.
He also claimed to have got wind of PKR vice-president Tian Chua planning to campaign in Kelantan next week with his PAS counterpart Mohd Nik Amar Abdullah, who is the brains behind the controversial move to amend Act 355.
“Malaysians are pissed off with some of these politicians, and so am I,” he added.
The former minister also listed several questions for the candidates who should be considered to lead Malaysia, which are:
- Are they able to lead the opposition to victory?
- Will they oppose Hudud and Act 355?
- Will they support and affirm the decision of the Supreme Court in Che Awang Che Soh (1985) case that Malaysia is a secular democracy?
- Will they repeal all discriminatory laws in the country and make hate speech a crime?
“If the person of your choice can give a clear and unequivocal answer to these questions, then we can start looking at other reforms that a new government can deal with. Good governance is easy when first principles are settled,” he said.
Zaid also hinted that Dr Mahathir Mohamad could be the be the best person for the post, but did not mention the former prime minister by name.
“I know of a person who is probably our last hope, and (jailed former opposition leader) Anwar Ibrahim knows him too.
“(Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul) Razak is not worried about any opposition memorandum of understanding or manifesto but Najib is fearful of this man.
“I can’t say if this man is interested or willing to take the job, but I urge all opposition leaders to take a step back and have a meeting with Anwar again.
“We do not have much time, but choosing a suitable prime minister-designate will make the difference between winning and losing GE14,” he added.
