Who should lead Pakatan after Anwar?

Nizar Jamaluddin

The truth is Pakatan needs Sabah and Sarawak to win the upcoming General Election and PKR is not helping by making mistake after mistake in these two states. I would say that the most suitable leader to replace Anwar if he is found guilty in the sodomy trial as Pakatan leader should come from either DAP or PAS. The opposition needs a good politician as its leader and currently in my humble opinion PKR has none of them.

by Zamiel Geta Hussaini, Malaysian Digest

Of all people, it was legendary American footballer Joe Namath once said,"“To be a leader, you have to make people want to follow you, and nobody wants to follow someone who doesn't know where he is going.” In the context of Pakatan Rakyat, the current leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is currently facing heaps of challenges to the point of hinting on the possibility that he might have to face incarceration yet again. I'm very sure that Pakatan is seriously considering a name to replace their charismatic leader in the event that he is found 'guilty' in his second sodomy trial.

Nik Aziz and Kit Siang

The tricky part is actually to find the most suitable candidates to fill in Anwar’s shoes, a leader who is one hundred percent sure of his political direction. They are only a few that meet this requirement, DAP parliamentary leader and Ipoh Timor MP, Lim Kit Siang being one of them. But bear in mind that Kit Siang is not getting any younger, he is 70. Then there is PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat who is 80 this year.

Other then these two prominent veterans, who else would be the most fitting person to become Pakatan chief? We are not just talking about being an MP, state assemblyman or a minister. We are talking about the possibility of naming the next Malaysian Prime Minister if ever Pakatan manage to take over Putrajaya.

Lim Guan Eng

DAP seems to have a few adept candidates. Number one is its Secretary General and Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng. With his leadership Penang has become the No. 1 state for total capital investments in 2010 attracting RM12,238 million, up nearly five times as compared to RM2,165 million In 2009 and comprising 26% of Malaysia’s total investments of RM47,177 million for 2010. This is based on a report by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA). A commendable achievement since that it is a known fact that Penang has been experiencing budget surpluses for 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The fact that many people highly regard Guan Eng to be a humble leader is another plus point. But Guan Eng himself in an interview with The Edge confessed that he has no higher ambitions. He claimed there are many people more qualified than me to be the prime minister.

Tony Pua

Then there’s Tony Pua who is the Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara. Pua who graduated from Keble College, Oxford University is definitely one of the most prominent MPs from DAP in Dewan Rakyat. Pua currently is one of the most aggressive in pressuring the government on the issues of high profile defense budget.

Mat Sabu

There are also a few names from PAS that could make the list. The leading name is obviously its new deputy president Mohamad Sabu who is also known as Mat Sabu. Mat Sabu is very well known for his public speaking abilities which would be a big advantage for him. The man who had been detained twice under the Internal Security Act (ISA) had recently caused a stir when he claimed he was intentionally rammed by a police car during the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9. The police then screened a video which showed that the motorcycle which Mat Sabu was riding pillion, was not hit by a police Land Rover as alleged, but when the motorcycle was making a "U" turn, it hit the Pajero's (not Land Rover as Mat Sabu had claimed) fender which caused the motorcycle to go out of control before skidding in the Seri Persekutuan housing area.

Khalid Samad

Then there is former Perak Mentri Besar and Bukit Gantang MP, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin. Nizar is especially popular with his ability to speak Mandarin since coming from a half Malay and half Chinese parentage – a perfect combination for a leader of multiracial Malaysia. Another popular name from PAS is Shah Alam MP, Khalid Samad. Khalid is known for his unconventional approach. In my opinion Khalid has taken actions that merit praise, like visiting a church after his win during the elections. And yet he was criticized by Umno leaders for it earning the nickname 'Khalid Gereja'.

I've been naming potential leaders from PAS and DAP and yet none from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). It’s in my opinion that I can't find a single leader that are talented enough to take over the highly demanding position of the opposition leader. I've always believed that PKR is lacking in leaders who are real politicians since most of them came from NGO background. They can fight for the rakyat and I'm pretty sure that almost all of them have good intentions. But what is lacking is that that their ability to make good political decisions. PKR have been known to make a number of mistakes like its tussle with SNAP which had affected both parties performance during the Sarawak state election.

The fact that PKR is filled with former disgruntled Umno members doesn't help either. This was reflected in its party election. There were claims of corruption during the election resulted in the departure of a number of top leaders including Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and N Gobalakrishnan.

The truth is Pakatan needs Sabah and Sarawak to win the upcoming General Election and PKR is not helping by making mistake after mistake in these two states. I would say that the most suitable leader to replace Anwar if he is found guilty in the sodomy trial as Pakatan leader should come from either DAP or PAS. The opposition needs a good politician as its leader and currently in my humble opinion PKR has none of them.