A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.
– John C Maxwell, American author
– John C Maxwell, American author
JUST four months in as prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has his work cut out for him. This is not unexpected. Thankfully, he is a seasoned politician with years of experience behind him.
Anwar was only in his 40’s when he was supposedly groomed (in happier times) by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to succeed him. Born in 1947, he was 46 when he became deputy prime minister in 1993.
Anwar should have been PM6 twenty years ago. He is probably our longest PM-in-waiting. Patience, brother, patience — Anwar has finally reached the pinnacle of his political career!
Even with his decades of experience in politics and in government, it cannot be assumed that Anwar will just wade through the political minefield and emerge unscathed.
There is no smooth ride in politics at this time and Anwar knows it.
If events of the past few weeks are any indication, the prime minister will continue to face tough challenges, principally from his long-time sworn enemies and other political adversaries.
Anwar is aware that some of them are powerful figures and tough nuts to crack. But crack them, he must.
Indeed, Anwar as prime minister now has to crack the whip and be seriously tough against attempts to overthrow the government and plunge the nation into darkness again.
I am glad that Anwar has already started cracking the whip. He must continue from where he had left off in his hard-hitting speech at the PKR special congress last Friday.
He had specifically warned those who are corrupt, inciting racial and religious sentiments and threatening to topple the government.
The prime minister must continue with such efforts unrelentingly.
Key figures in the opposition including Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, Mahathir and their cohorts will continue to make life difficult for Anwar and his unity government.
Muhyiddin will have difficulty in forgiving Anwar now that he has been charged for corruption.
Hadi will use his brand of political Islam to challenge the government’s religious credentials while Mahathir
will surely make the “Malay race” his weapon of choice against Anwar.
Of the trio, many of us must be pleased that Anwar has taken a veiled jab at Mahathir saying the latter only complained about Malays losing their dominance after he was no longer in power.
“Now that he has lost power, he is whining that Malays have lost everything,” he told the PKR event last Friday.
I have also stated that Mahathir is now fair game after he had declared recently that he is back in active politics.
Despite his advancing years and public status, if this is what the 97-year-old former prime minister wants, then this is what he will get. Mahathir’s political opponents should feel free to sock it to the known racist grandmaster, if warranted.
I have also described Hadi as a destructive and dangerous figure after his public show of disrespect for the Malay rulers and his continuous threat to bring down the government, telling Muslims that it was not wrong for them to do so. The PAS leader is a definite threat to national security, in my book.
I will repeat my call to the prime minister and the Inspector General of Police to clamp down on religious radicals and extremists whose actions are detrimental to national security.
Also, any attempt to destabilise and bring down the government is not something to be taken lightly.
Indeed, racial and religious strife is hard to mend once it is ignited.
As I feel that Anwar should crack his whip, I am also aware that the prime minister cannot be expected to right the wrongs so ingrained in our decades-old political landscape overnight.
As such, we must be prepared to give him time and space to get things done.
However, we also know that at times, the poor financial health of the nation and the alarming plight of needy Malaysians do not allow this administration to take its sweet time in carrying out reforms.
Let us, ordinary Malaysians, remember this. Anwar and the unity government are possibly the best choice we have now.
They cannot afford to falter. As the same time, they need our undivided loyalty and support to stay in power and carry out their promised reforms.
Just as Anwar and his team owe it to us to perform, we owe our sincere support to the prime minister and his administration.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
