Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim believed that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had good intentions but was playing "too safe" for his liking.
"I think he has to execute a little bit more or he has to be a bit brave in terms of making decisions. You can't take care of everyone. You have to make a decision about what's best for the country.
"Sometimes, if you are being hated for making a good decision for the country, sometimes you have to bite the bullet," Tunku Ismail said during the ‘Keluar Sekejap’ recent podcast hosted by former Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin and former BN information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan.
Tunku Ismail was confident that Anwar had the intention of helping the country but that Anwar didn't have a "good team".
In concurring with Khairy that the Anwar-led administration had laid out many good blueprints for the country, Tunku Ismail also concurred that the prime minister was indecisive in naming a replacement for his domestic trade minister.
"Maybe playing too safe," said Tunku Ismail.
At one point, Khairy asked if Tunku Ismail was allowed to discuss politics, to which the latter said the monarchy was above politics, which meant that they could not participate in the process.
However, he was free to air his views and be criticised for them.
"How long have I been critiqued? Anything happened (to anyone)? I don't see anything happening. I am open to being criticised," he said.
Khairy later asked for Tunku Ismail's view on DAP, in view of the "Malay phobia" of the party, to which the crown prince said he preferred to evaluate individuals rather than parties.
"(Youth and Sports Minister) Hannah Yeoh. I think she's superb because she's just someone who focuses on her job... It's the same with (Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew) Chin Tong.
"I don't think I can say whether they are relevant or whether they are good. It's not my place because I only know very few individuals from those parties. Same with PKR and Umno," he said.
The role of political parties, stressed Tunku Ismail, was public service.
In view of Umno's Johor roots, Khairy asked Tunku Ismail for his views on Umno's future, to which the latter said Umno has a future but it required a change of guard.
"So I think there needs to be people who can bring a different dynamic that can relate to the current scenario of the country today. And there is a future.
"But some people have to go," he said.
Awkward moment
Tunku Ismail said he wanted to see more qualified people running the country and that they should be chosen based on merit and not seniority.
"That's why I hope you two will go back to Umno," said Tunku Ismail.
This remark led to an awkward moment which saw Khairy and Shahril fumbling for words before segueing to another topic.
Khairy was expelled from Umno in January while Shahril's membership was suspended for six years. The duo expressed that they have no intentions of appealing.
Since the inaugural ‘Keluar Sekejap’ episode, Khairy has been extremely critical of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who suspended or expelled critical party members just before the party held a leadership election in March. - Mkini
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