YOURSAY | ‘Harapan’s leader is not for Pejuang to decide.’

Mukhriz: Anwar's time has passed, Harapan needs new leaders

Quigonbond: Let’s thank Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir for speaking his mind honestly, but the man is not fit to be prime minister either. He doesn’t have high enough EQ (emotional intelligence) to know when to speak about such topics in public.

If you discount PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, and you don't have another frontrunner on standby, the entire opposition coalition is just shooting itself in the feet.

Who are these “a lot of people” Mukhriz spoke to anyway? And did he speak to the right people? And really, who is Pejuang? You think Pejuang with just Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his son can pull another Bersatu?

I don't trust the old man anymore. The main reason Pakatan Harapan screwed up their two years in power is because Dr M is stuck in his old ways instead of forging ahead with the much-needed reforms.

The priority is for Harapan to rethink its strategy and to unite the opposition. Those minor opposition parties should do the same if they're really thinking about saving Malaysia.

MW: Not an Anwar fan here, but this coming from Mukhriz is hypocritical nonsense and also revealing, considering his father's age and their agreement prior to the 14th general election (GE14).

Bit by bit, he's revealing what most already suspected - Dr M never had the intention to hand over power and always had the intention to push Mukhriz to be a future PM.

YellowYuzu: I won’t rule Anwar out of contention for the prime minister’s post. He is by far the most charismatic leader in Harapan.

Mukhriz will never be PM - there are much better candidates like Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal, or the younger generation like Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar or Muda president Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman.

BlueMinnow3865: @YellowYuzu, those Harapan supporters who are dissatisfied with the coalition’s performance in their short 22 months in government are totally disoriented.

Think rationally, who is the culprit who was blocking reforms during Harapan’s rule? Tun M. He refused to acknowledge Harapan's manifesto and orchestrated the downfall of the coalition.

To all Harapan supporters, please don't lose hope. We must continue the journey and fight on in the 15th general election (GE15).

OrangeKancil6903: Harapan failed not because of Anwar. He wasn't in power, he was on the sidelines.

Harapan’s failure was due to Mahathir who conspired with his then party Bersatu and its current president Muhyiddin Yassin to enlist Umno members.

They then broke away to form the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government with the corrupt politicians in Umno and PAS - yes, there are corrupt ones there too.

DAP, the father and son team, were instrumental too in letting Mahathir lead them by the nose, all for want of power and glory to stay on in the government.

Anwar was just holding on to the understanding that Mahathir will pass on the PM post to him after two years. Alas, it was not to be. Mahathir was too cunning and played out Anwar and the country.

The Wakandan: Indeed, having seen the destructive trail that the past government of BN had left behind, Harapan is certainly a better prospect.

That said, those who are unhappy with them (Harapan) do have valid points. They failed. They failed in the ultimate test - their government fell.

There are reasons for that of course, but bottom line was bad judgement (bad decision making, bad political strategy). And that was a big issue with Harapan. How many more bad judgements will there be?

Ultimately, there must be a better alternative, not just because the existing government is bad. Because if that is so, we will be back to square one and that does not help.

PurpleJaguar0553: Pejuang, Muda, and Warisan do not have leaders with national appeal. PKR is the only party that can field such a leader in PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli or Nurul. Will Anwar allow younger leaders to rise?

DAP has good Malay leaders but the party is demonised as a Chinese party. It will be difficult for those Malay leaders to find acceptance in a society that is religiously and racially divided as now.

The only other alternative will be Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad from Amanah. But will Harapan nominate him as his party has a smaller number of seats?

The ball is now in Anwar's court whether he can create a presence and influence as large as former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has on social media and attract the young.

At the moment, none in DAP and PKR have conquered the internet space like Najib has. None has waded in publicly daily to communicate with the youngsters who will be the biggest bloc of voters in GE15.

Gerard Lourdesamy: The Malay perception of Harapan was entirely due to Mahathir and not DAP. Anwar advised Mahathir to pay attention to the problems of the lower-income group and increasing government assistance.

Mahathir was more interested in enticing Umno and PAS MPs to defect to Bersatu, advancing his wasteful public projects, and bringing back his cronies to control the economy.

The promised Harapan reforms were stalled. DAP and Amanah were muted and PKR was allowed to split because of Mahathir's encouragement of Azmin Ali.

Harapan should keep away from Pejuang and only consider working with Warisan, Muda, as well as Sabah and Sarawak parties.

Coward: Mukhriz, whether Anwar's time is gone is not for you to say as you are not part of Harapan anymore. Even then, Harapan partners inside the coalition itself know that that decision is PKR's to make and for them to accept whoever PKR elects.

So, even as a potential partner with Harapan in the future, it is not your place to tell the other party who should lead them.

Your father can be forgiven to think that he can decide the leaders of other parties, but not you. Lest you forget, even he could not get his way.

If you want to decide Anwar's future, you must join PKR. Just like all PKR members, you have one vote. This concept is perhaps alien to your father’s ego which believes only his opinion counts, but you should know that you don't have his clout, let alone ability to dream about that.

As for your chance as PM, my advice is to get out and stand on your own two feet. Only then can you start working your way up.

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