Pakatan Rakyat Needs A New Leader

Wee Choo Keong has finally quit PKR. And I am sure that many in PKR are also unhappy with the leadership. Internal tension has also been an evident in Pakatan Rakyat. With this latest resignation in PKR, I foresee that Anwar is in trouble and Pakatan Rakyat may break up.

I have always been critical of UMNO and BN as well as DAP and PAS. I am not pro to any of those party. Like many Malaysians, I belong to the ‘third force’ – we say things as it is!

So now I’m going to say it - I dislike Anwar Ibrahim. To me Anwar is not up to the task. He is only good at making empty promises. Who could forget his promise to take over Putrajaya on 16 Sept 2008. He is full of personal agendas that doesn’t make him a capable leader to lead a solid opposition coalition. He is busy ‘selling’ his good image overseas that he forgets the real works of delivering the pledges he made during his election campaign. He also lacks the capacity to lead his loose coalition.

Personally, I would like to see a strong opposition coalition, a stable Pakatan Rakyat (minus the PKR). 8 March 2008 was the best ‘gift’ from them to BN who has ruled the country for over 50 years. It was a long-overdue wake-up call to the mighty politicians in BN. It was only then that BN begun its much-needed purge to raise the quality of its politicians and learned how to be more humble and communicate better with the people.

So I really hope for DAP to work out in Penang and PAS to work out in Kelantan and together (again, minus PKR) form a united front that can ensure BN upholds its ‘people first, performance now’ promise.

How I wish Lim Guan Eng, Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh could agree with me that Anwar has got limited skills to raise Pakatan Rakyat to the top. How I wish Hadi Awang and Nik Aziz could agree with me that if they keep Anwar, their journey to Putrajaya is going to be really tough. How I wish they could agree with me that apart from his great drive to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar is lack of visions and priorities for the future of the nation.

However with PM Najib’s sterling performance as a leader since he took office over a year ago – it will not be an easy journey now for Pakatan Rakyat to capture Putrajaya. As PM Najib is now appreciated by the rakyat for implementing visible reforms, Pakatan Rakyat needs to produce notable solutions to overcome so many internal issues before they can produce another ‘political tsunami’ in the next general election due in 2013.

However, we, the third force, are not easily convinced that Anwar will be a good leader. Anwar’s sodomy drama, Anwar’s empty promises, Anwar’s talent at blaming others and Anwar’s hunger for international limelight are just a few of his real ‘talents’.

What Pakatan Rakyat needs most now is a new leader.

Have I Ever Been Confused?

First and foremost, I am a Muslim and a Malay. Although I have my own political views, I am not affiliated to nor associated with any political party. I am not anti-Malay or anti-Islam. Nor am I pro-Christian.

For the past few days, everybody has been busy discussing about the usage of the word Allah - with Muslims and people of other faiths have continued to lock horns over the issue. My opinion on this, is that we should not waste anymore time fighting over a word.

This issue is now being exploited to the utmost by UMNO, PAS and many others. The Government is having its hands full trying to handle it in order to maintain social harmony. For me, there are more important things for them to do than embroil in this controversy. To all the Muslims politicians who seek to grab headlines for all the wrong reasons (sodomy, corruption, illegal second marriage, etc), I think they should be encouraged to strive to quell the multitude of problems our country is facing before its negative influence affected Muslims. As Muslim leaders, I also believe that they must exemplify high morals and behavior amongst the people so as to show the greatness of Islam.

However, I think we are equally responsible for overcoming the social and economic issues that Muslims are facing today rather than worrying on the usage of word Allah by others. Many will agree with me that basically, religious foundation must be instilled at a very young age. The home is of course the best place to start with. What Muslim parents should do is to give their children a foundation of good religious education. Live a life of integrity, truthfulness and moral clarity – that what parents should do. That is the core of a parent's duties and responsibilities in educating their children - by being a good example to them. Children being children are receptive and pure at heart to whatever teachings that cross their bow. Of course the real world is not perfect. But if our children are brought up with good values, they will withstand peer and social influences that may be contrary to their religious and family values.

Muslims with strong foundation will not be confused if a priest uses the word Allah and easily converted to Christianity. Muslims with strong foundation will not allow themselves to be influenced by negative foreign cultures that are clearly inappropriate and against the teachings of Islam. If Muslims at least follow the basic teachings of Islam, I believe that we could be a good and well-balanced person.

Have you ever been unsure of your religious identity? Would you have doubt on your religious faith after reading The Herald? Should we worry on the fate of Muslims because of a magazine which has a circulation of only 13,000 copies, a readership of 50,000 and is not available from the news-stands?

So in all fairness, let us share the word Allah with others and may Allah give us the Muslims all the wisdom.