COMMENT | The nation needs a strong leader and not another daddy.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is wrong to think he can become our surrogate father. His ‘abah’ tag is just a pathetic attempt to endear himself to us, but it has failed, miserably. Moreover, the majority of us, are content with our fathers.

Most of our fathers became our inspiration and a symbol of strength. They guided us in our formative years and urged us on when the going got tough. They did not threaten us with the whip, nor did they display the obsessive pursuit of power and control, as is wont in some sadistic fathers.

Actions speak louder than words and my father's advice about visiting other people was simple. He said, "You ring the bell, introduce yourself to the occupants, state your intention to meet a member of the household, and enter, only when invited. You do not slink in via the back door like a thief, or as an unwelcome visitor."

Father said that I would have to earn my place in the world, that learning English would be the ticket to making the world my oyster and he championed education because it would lead to financial freedom. In his lifetime, he had presumably seen enough Malay women who were financially dependent on their husbands, and who were later cast aside when their unfaithful husbands secretly married a young wife or kept many mistresses.

A multicultural outlook was a part of the everyday life of my father and I, at home and at work. Today the majority of the non-Malays who were part of my circle of friends, have emigrated. Many are victims of affirmative action policies. At the same time, many Malays have been corrupted by extremist preachings.

As in many other families, my father was religious, but we kept dogs as pets, played with Barbie dolls, received piggybanks and had no issues with...