YOURSAY | ‘Twice bitten still not shy! When will you learn your lesson?’
'Mahathir PM, Anwar DPM' - DAP urges PKR to state stand
Is this how you repay 20 years of friendship? Anwar's aide to DAP
Justice: PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim has to be extra careful this time because after his sacking by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998, he was bombarded with all kinds of trumped-up charges, false allegations to tarnish and humiliate him and his family, and had his sacking “justified” which subsequently denied him of the chance of becoming the prime minister.
This time, the political landmines or “improvised explosives devices” - commonly known as “roadside bombs” in Iraq - had been laid on at least at two sites on his road leading to his intended or promised destination in Putrajaya.
One of such devices is the legal challenge against the royal pardon granted to Anwar. The second, of course, is the alleged and most probably the politically instigated “indecent exposure” complaint by his former assistant.
These surely are part of Anwar’s political enemies’ well-planned strategies to be used to justify their excuse for objecting Anwar from getting the PM post. As of now, the propaganda against Anwar will focus on Anwar’s alleged failure to get the required numbers for Pakatan Harapan to regain Putrajaya.
But should Harapan succeeded in regaining Putrajaya, his enemies will most likely proceed to trigger the said “IEDs” to prevent him from getting the PM post, by which time they will tell Malaysians that “oh yes, the plan and agreement were to pass the PM baton to Anwar, but this and that have happened, so…”
Quite predictable, but unfortunately, most Malaysians are not discerning and remain gullible, and that’s why Anwar’s enemies continued to succeed in their ever-desperate attempt to deny Anwar from getting the PM post.
From what Anwar and his family had gone through since 1998, who, in Anwar’s shoes, would just simply throw caution to the wind, especially if it involved the same actors who did not change but went back to their same evil political scheme during Harapan’s 22-month rule.
IndigoTrout2522: DAP is disappointing. Anthony Loke and Lim Guan Eng are playing the game that if a consensus fails now, it is Anwar’s fault.
If Mahathir-Anwar becomes a reality and then six months later Mahathir decides not to pass the baton to Anwar, they will say Anwar fails to get the support from East Malaysia, which is essentially Warisan leader Shafie Apdal.
So Mahathir will stay on until Harapan is destroyed at GE15. Harapan Plus then will claim Anwar is only power hungry and only interested in being PM and is responsible for the breakup of Harapan. So, they are putting Anwar in a no-win situation, now or later.
Why is a party with just a few MPs be given the kingmaker role? PKR has 38 MPs and Anwar should have a say too.
Some of top DAP leaders may like the sweet taste of being ministers, but it should not be done by sacrificing loyalty and principles. If DAP stands firm and insists on Anwar as PM candidate and doing the right thing, the only repercussion will be remaining in the opposition but Harapan stands tall.
Mahathir has been accorded an over-sized role for so long and it is time that he, too, should put aside his personal ambition and support a new leadership for the good of the nation. He should sincerely pull all his influences on Shafie and others to support Anwar. This uncertainly is created because he knows DAP is weak, waffling and hungry.
If Mahathir-Anwar must be the only solution to regain power, there must be an agreement clearly in writing and power-sharing between Mahathir and Anwar. Gone must be those days when only Mahathir could make decisions on cabinet appointments and other major decisions.
For the next six months, all major decisions must be agreed to by the duo or a small team of senior leaders within Harapan. Harapan’s manifesto must be implemented and not discarded with excuses. If Mahathir and Shafie are not agreeable to this, then it’s best to stay on as opposition.
OrangePanther1466: Well, it’s clear that PKR is the only stumbling block. The people will remember who cause the split in Harapan Plus. This party exists for one man and his family. What a hypocritical bunch of leaders this party has.
Anwar’s aide Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, friendship is a two-way street. You are selfish to only think of yourself. Loke is right for having waited out the agreed one week to announce the PM candidate decision. This matter is of national importance and the public, as well as grassroot supporters of Harapan Plus components, would like to know.
Jeez: What a joke, twice bitten still not shy! When will you learn your lesson? If Mahathir becomes the PM it will be the same old routine again. The rakyat voted for a complete change from the BN corrupted government, not for a slightly watered-down version of BN.
Is this what we want for our country? Should the nation allow itself to be held ransom and pull along by the nose by one super egoistic man?
If the majority of the voters do not have a strong and united stand on what we want, we will never see the rise of good leaders. The emergence of good leaders is contingent on the broad support of voters. But if we are so weak as to allow certain leaders to deceive us and play us with their games, then we really deserved to be used and abused by them.
We have seen how the hinterland Malays have been indoctrinated for decades with lies and fear that they are stuck with these crooked leaders.
PKR, DAP and Amanah should stick together and not give in to demands of other smaller parties. It is rather ridiculous that the parties with lesser MPs call the shots. In the current political scenario, Harapan with these three main parties is the most stable and sustainable bloc for decades to come as they share many common ideals.
Do not sell the voters' trust and hopes just for the sake of being in power. Should you bend back for Mahathir again, the same fate awaits you ... and ends up with another "Sheraton" fiasco. Is that what you want, and more importantly the rakyat want? The other consequences will be the loss of your staunchest supporters and probably the eventual breakup of the Harapan coalition.
On the whole, with Mahathir at the helm, nothing will change except maybe some big crooks go to jail and the country will continue to suffer from all its ills. Don't forget who was the architect of our nation’s problems.
Diehardmalaysian: Dear PKR members, the question is whether you want to topple Perikatan Nasional (PN). For this to happen, you got to be practical. Harapan has only 91/92 seats. You need East Malaysian parties. Who can bring them together at this point in time? Mahathir or Anwar? They have already voiced out who they want.
To be realistic, let Mahathir do the magic and be the PM for a stipulated period and then Anwar can take over, of course, all inked. In the interim, Anwar has to build the bridges and get the confidence of all Harapan Plus MPs. Have two deputy prime ministers (DPMs), one must be from Sabah/Sarawak.
PKR supporters have to think out of the box and be realistic. Otherwise, let PN remain as the government and Harapan as opposition.
AnthonyChan: Why must only PKR compromise for outcomes that will be detrimental to Harapan? After all, it is Mahathir that caused the Harapan government to fall and lose support among their voters. To agree to Mahathir’s demands is like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
If Mahathir is sincere to save Malaysia, it is a small sacrifice for him to forego the six months of PMship.
Kim Quek: Indeed, if Mahathir is sincere to work with Harapan to save the country from PN, what is his rationale for insisting on becoming PM for six months? What can he hope to achieve in six months?
Shouldn’t he have supported Anwar as the PM instead?
Isn’t it clear that Mahathir has an agenda of his own, which is completely different from Harapan’s, just like what happened during his last premiership, which was a washout and a grand betrayal of Harapan and the electorate? Is it not obvious that history will just repeat itself when Mahathir becomes PM again?
Besides, there is no assurance that by nominating Mahathir as PM, Harapan will succeed in securing power now. The attempt may fail or even trigger a general election.
Similarly, there is no certainty that by nominating Anwar, Harapan will not succeed in seizing power before the due date for GE15, judging from the shabby rule of PN at a time of unprecedented economic recession.
Plain Simple: It looks like the chess game is left with only two kings and both sides can't checkmate.
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