“Politics is a matter of choices, and a man doesn't set up the choices himself. And there is always a price to make a choice. You know that. You've made a choice, and you know how much it cost you. There is always a price.” - Robert Penn Warren (All the King's Men)

COMMENT | What is this horse manure about “mixed views” on whether Mahathir Mohamad should be named “interim” prime minister? When will the amateur hour end for Pakatan Harapan? When Harapan embraced the former prime minister in their epic quest to oust the current Umno grand poobah, what did they think it meant? What did anyone think it meant?

As quoted in the press, some believe the term “interim” does not inspire “stability” which is why there should not be any doubt as to who will wear the crown if Putrajaya is taken. Forget about interim, just name the old man as prime minister and get down to the dirty business of winning the federal government.

This, after all, is what Harapan signed up for. This, after all, is the inevitable outcome of aligning with mainstream Malay power brokers. This is what happens when you claim that the country is in dire need of saving, and people must not be selfish and that there are no credible alternative plans to save the nation.

Mind you, I think there have always been people in the opposition or who support the opposition who have offered up credible alternative ideas but as usual they were shouted down and dismissed as “idealists” or worse by people who have placed pragmatism over anything else.

Commit to chosen game

The opposition is not offering any visionary ideas; merely apocalyptic ones. Maybe this has something to do with the religious overtones of the opposition but at this point it really does not matter. Choices have been made. Compromises struck and the most important thing the opposition should do is commit to the game they have chosen to play....