It has to be Anwar - and no one else

 

Surely, the next prime minister has to be Anwar Ibrahim. All the others – the pretenders and contenders – have had their turn and what a mess they made of the country.

The only person who has not had his turn is Anwar. He has not been tested or tried with the fate of this nation so far, but he has been waiting patiently in the wings.

No politician associated with the Perikatan Nasional government, no politician from the discredited Umno should even be considered as a possible candidate. Collectively, they all brought about this ruin upon us.

We know how the coffers of the nation have been abused for self-centred and selfish interests. 

Billions of ringgit have been spent without accountability or noticeable results bringing any relief to the country. 

We don’t know, as yet, how much of this money went to the rakyat and how much went into the pockets of crony politicians.

They sought the emergency as an effective weapon to fight and control the Covid-19 but it was used to perpetuate their power and position. 

They gagged parliamentary democracy and stifled the freedom of the media. They remained unchallenged by democratic means to oust them.

Unbridled corruption had its day. Even when it was clear that the tottering PN government was about to collapse, rumours were swirling around that as much as RM30 million was being offered as a last-minute effort to buy support and remain in power. 

Some individual MPs had even received WhatsApp messages to this effect from unknown sources. But as they say, there is no smoke without fire.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim

All the other politicians – except Anwar – are not capable of bringing reforms and curbing corruption. 

If anyone from them were to be appointed PM, the old politics of patronage, self-serving policies, crony capitalism, hand in the till, abuse of power, compromised freedom of the media and much more will continue.

With Anwar at the helm, we can expect better days for Malaysia reflecting the universal core values. 

He appreciates the plural society of Malaysia, he acknowledges the fact that the needy deserve to be helped irrespective of colour and creed and understands the notion of justice.

Anwar can be expected to be the man this quotation portrays:

"A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.” - Mkini

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P RAMAKRISHNAN is the former president of Aliran.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.