COMMENT | For close on three decades now, history has contrived to make the choice for national leadership in Malaysia revolve around Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim.

This narrowed choice has been to the impoverishment of the nation.

True, there have been others, like Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak, who followed Mahathir in the prime ministerial post.

But their tenancies were truncated, essentially because their continuation in office would have made Anwar electable as PM.

Mahathir simply wouldn't abide that.

Thus he agitated for Abdullah's cessation and campaigned for Najib's ouster...