Who Will Bell The Cat Tell Opposition Trio Their Time Is Up

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Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wiser, so I am changing myself.
- Rumi 1207-1273.
Who will bell the cat? It’s an expression from Aesop’s fables. Indeed, who will bell the cat? This is a question that’s on the mind of millions of Malaysians today.
Who will dare tell PKR's Anwar Ibrahim, and DAP's Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng, that their time is up? That it is time for them to hand over the reins of the leadership of their parties and that of the Pakatan Harapan coalition, to others?
We are not asking them to leave their parties but to make way for younger, new leaders at the very top of PKR, DAP and Harapan. We still need them to win their state and parliamentary seats and guide the youth to defeat Umno/Perikatan Nasional. 
Their immense experience and political savvy are still necessary to mentor a new prime minister and their team. It’s not that we wish to throw them under the bus just like that, or that we are not grateful to them.
I have been a supporter of Anwar, Kit Siang, PKR and DAP for as long as I can remember. I owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. They gave me back my self-esteem.

That does not mean that I am blinded by loyalty. Far, from it. I have openly criticised them whenever they strayed off the principled path.


So, who shall replace Anwar, Kit Siang and Guan Eng at the top and form a stunning winning team? Everyone will have their own dream team. Here’s mine for what it’s worth, a nice blend of experience, age and youth:
Shafie Apdal, 65, as Harapan chief and PM candidate.Nurul Izzah Anwar, 41, as PKR head and DPM candidate with Rafizi Ramli, 44, as her party deputy.Yeo Bee Yin, 38, as DAP head with Anthony Loke, 44, as her deputy.Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg, 72, as an additional and equal DPM.Harapan lost the government in February 2020 due to the treachery of Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Anwar and Guan Eng have reached an impasse with Sarawak and Sabah at the federal level. 
There appear to be old wounds that cannot be stitched or healed. Anwar and Guan Eng failed to get the 18 seats from Sarawak or 17 from Sabah and lost the golden opportunity to form the new government last week.
Shafie has requested that if Anwar failed, he be given the chance to get Sarawak and Sabah on Harapan’s side as one East Malaysian to another and lead Harapan as the prime ministerial candidate. He has my vote. 
As for Nurul Izzah, she may or may not realise it, but she has that X-factor - charisma. I reckon that eventually when she makes a bid for the PM post, she will take the country by storm, like a latter-day Eva Peron, Indira Gandhi or Corazon Aquino.
All Malaysians will unite behind her, like the manic football fans do behind Manchester United, worldwide. She has the potential to become a truly great PM.
I am going for the ladies to take control and lead, as all the men have proven to be lacking in personality, disappointing in performance, indecisive, even wimpish and making all the wrong decisions, stupidly.
We need a sea change from the testosterone-charged atmosphere of male domination in Malaysian politics. It is the men who have presided over a country that some have accused of being a basket case and a failed state now.
What we need are women like Nurul and Bee Yin to take us down a new, progressive path and a fantastic future. 
Bee Yin won our hearts and minds during her short stint between 2018-2020 as energy, science, technology, environment and climate change minister. 
Again, that charisma factor is there. Like Nurul Izzah, she cuts across race, religion, creed and colour.

Rafizi Ramli
As for Rafizi, he’s made some poor decisions and taken some bad turns, led down the wrong path by the manipulation of PKR leaders. But, who hasn’t, when younger? That’s the way we learn - from mistakes, stumbling and falling.
Rafizi has more important qualities. He’s got brains, financial qualifications, is numbers-savvy to go with brawns, as he fearlessly exposed the fraud at 1MDB, the RM250 million Cow Condogate fiasco and misgovernance at Tabung Haji. He’s both finance minister and DPM material, and one day, the PM.
It is also time for prominent NGO leaders, particularly women, those who led Bersih and others, to take the baton and make the charge for liberty, equality and fraternity. They will set the tone for a new breed of honest politicians.
These women may not feel that they have the inclination for politics, but, every seat they win at the general election will be a nail in the coffin for the crooks and thieves. Some sacrifices are called for, that is, national service.

So, dear Anwar, Kit Siang and Guan Eng, the nation is poised on a knife’s edge. We cannot let the backdoor men rule us for another two years. No way. That is the path to hell.

If not Shafie, Nurul Izzah, Bee Yin, Loke and Rafizi, who? If not here, where? If not today, when? - Mkini

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

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