YOURSAY | ‘As long as the transition is not cast in stone, there will be instability…’

It's two years - Anwar never said he wanted to be PM earlier, says Dr M

Quigonbond: Harapan presidential council and the cabinet should discuss and fix a timeline for a smooth transition because the politics within the coalition has become very unsettling.

As long as the transition is not cast in stone, there will be too many noises within the coalition with PKR and Bersatu trying to take advantage of the situation, which is exactly what is happening now.

Please do this very soon. If we want noise in Malaysia, it should be good noise about social, cultural, economic and scientific progress.

Kelate: Is Anwar Ibrahim ready to take over the role and responsibilities as PM? Any preparation is yet to be seen.

Anwar should be in the cabinet as part of the preparation, with the current deputy prime minister giving way. Just jumping in straight away as PM is a recipe for a disaster.

Anonymous 1689721435778173: I have no doubt that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will hand over power to Anwar in two years.

The question is by May 2020, or a little later, will Anwar still command the support of the majority of MPs given that PKR is about to split into two with its deputy president, Azmin Ali, on the opposing side?

I think this talk about whether or not Mahathir will hand power over to Anwar is a waste of time. Mahathir said he will.

Many things can happen in two years. So let the future take care of itself. Don't get diverted from solving the problems of the present.

Casey: Article 43 of the Federal Constitution provides that the prime minister shall be a member of the House of Representatives “who is likely (in the judgement of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong) to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House".

Whether there was an understanding as to Anwar succeeding Mahathir as the next PM is one thing, and whether he can (at that point in time) command the support of the majority of the members of Parliament is another.

The former is nothing more than just an understanding, while the latter is a function of his conduct, and how the rakyat subscribe to it.

Much discourse has surfaced as to the aspersion and doubts since PKR leader Rafizi Ramli’s overzealous endeavour to defend what they had perceived as a possible threat to Anwar ascension - exposing Anwar’s weakness as a leader and his own political base.

Unspin: Considering what Anwar and his family had to go through over the past 20 years, no one will begrudge Anwar the honour of succeeding Mahathir when the time comes.

However, Anwar has to up his game to show that he is capable of steering our country in the right direction when he is PM.

His "performance" so far with regard to managing his own party is below par. He is such a nice guy and we know that nice guys do not necessarily make the best leaders.

Having said that, the succession plan for PM could be as follows: Mahathir to remain as PM until end 2021 (to give him enough time to fix our economy); Anwar to be PM for one term only (to "reward" him for all his efforts); followed by Muhyiddin Yassin (two terms if his health permits), Azmin, and then Mukhriz Mahathir (both for two terms each as well).

The People of Selangor: Mahathir should step down before end of 2019. His health does not permit him to carry on with such heavy responsibilities.

We don’t want the world to see that we don’t have a younger leader to be prime minister. It brings shame to our younger Malaysians to let a 93-year-old man be the prime minister and force him to work so hard.

Your Conscience: Mahathir, my simple advice to you. For 20 years I hated you just like many other Malaysians. I don't need to elaborate.

Now, we all have accepted you because you agreed to the Pakatan Harapan vision and we love you for that.

You spearheaded Harapan to victory. You have ‘re-won’ the rakyat.

At a ripe old age and as the oldest premier ever, please respect the rakyat’s will and hand over power to Anwar within two years. You will be cherished as not only ‘Bapa Pemodenan Malaysia’, but also a PM who repaired a broken Malaysia.

Your legacy and sacrifice for Malaysia will forever be cherished. Your Vision 2020 will be realised and be a reality because you have put Malaysia on the right path and help heal Malaysia like no one else can.

So come 2020, at 95, let the transition to Anwar be a peaceful and healing one to a more progressive Malaysia.

Not to worry, we, the rakyat, will be ever vigilant to take to task anyone who even dreams of taking advantage of us or destroying this country. Bless you.

Mission Accomplished: If an old man came out of his retirement and saved the country from collapsing, why do we grudge him whether he wanted to relinquish as PM?

Is Mahathir mismanaging the country or, do we hate him so much we cannot accord him a few more months?

Our greed and distasteful act were the reason Malaysia was cursed for more than six decades ruled by the evil Umno regime. Perhaps, we have not learned anything.

The Wakandan: Poor thing, Mahathir being harassed by these questions about handing over the PMship.

Maybe we should leave Mahathir alone with regard to this issue since he often said the same thing – two years and his successor will be Anwar.

At 93 going on 94, he has achieved a record being the oldest serving PM. People at this age would retire to the background in whatever field they serve.

We can allow Mahathir perhaps to spend his twilight years with his family, his grandchildren especially, maybe drive his favourite car around or simply just smell the roses.

Even the unelected British monarch, known for their longevity, would retire at some point. Prince Philip just retired from performing his official functions recently.

Those clamouring for Mahathir to stay on perhaps forget the fact that he is living on borrowed time, standing on precarious ground.

Right now, a succession plan should be promulgated. Maybe a cabinet reshuffle – replace Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail with Anwar as the deputy prime minister, now that he is PKR president; Mahathir to step down as PM within two years and hand over to the DPM.

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