“Anwar Ibrahim deserves a chance to be the PM of Malaysia” – Nga Kor Ming

At the just concluded Pakatan HARAPAN’s leadership retreat at Port Dickson yesterday, PH has unanimously endorsed party Keadilan President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be the Prime Minister candidate should PH succeed in winning the coming GE-15.

At the age of 74, this may be the last chance for Anwar to be Prime Minister & I sincerely believe he deserves a chance to prove himself after waiting for more than two decades since the reformation movement started in 1998.

Following are the reasons why I advocate for Anwar to be the Prime Minister & I believe many Malaysians will share my view after a careful consideration of the imminent crisis our country will be facing in view of the various problems and challenges we have right now.

As a multiracial country, Malaysia was known to be a model example in promoting racial & religious harmony. Our Tourism Malaysia’s catch phrase was ‘Malaysia truly Asia’ .

However, this is not the case anymore after Perikatan Nasional stole the people’s mandate & formed the backdoor government through the notorious & despicable “Sheraton Move. “

One example is how PN Kedah’s government insulted the Indian community by revoking the public holiday for Thaipusam & also the demolition of Hindu temples.

Malaysians & the world have witnessed the ugly, vicious & wicked faces of the politicians who are willing to sell their souls, betrayed the rakyat & stabbed their comrades only for the lust of power & personal gains.

Their notorious behaviour & despicable character will destroy our beloved country if nothing is being done quickly to repair the damage wrought by them on our beloved country especially the assault on our democracy.

It is a known fact that TS Muhyiddin Yassin is the back door PM with no mandate from the people & Perikatan Nasional is dominated by either race based parties or those who hijacked Islam for their selfish political interest. Race and religion based politics are outdated politics, not suitable for multi racial Malaysia. Only politicians who are bankrupt of ideas will need to resort to race or religion to gain support simply because they have no idea how to run the country based on integrity, transparency & good governance.

This country badly needs healing and the way to move forward is to stop the racial or religious extremism which is very divisive & disastrous to our nation building.

This is where Anwar Ibrahim is required & he is the most suitable candidate to play a historical role now to stop the country from becoming the next “Asia’s sick man“.

Ever since PN grabbed power on 24th February 2020, Malaysia had started to fall in the eyes of the world. Its deterioration is at such an alarming rate. All patriotic Malaysians need to rise up to the occasion to stop the rot.

As stated in UNCTAD’s report, in 2020 our country’s FDI has dropped 68.2%. We lost even to the Philippines & Indonesia. To make the matters worse, Malaysia’s international anti corruption index has fallen from 51 to 57 spot, our country’s credit rating has been downgraded by Fitch rating for the first time in 17 years, our economy was in recession & suffered a 5.6% contraction & our unemployment rate among the youth is at historical high of 17.5%, which means nearly a million Malaysians has lost their job & being unemployed. Most Malaysians can see all the mishaps, flip flops & double standards shown by the current PN regime and Malaysian tax payers have to pay for the largest but mediocre & unproductive cabinet in history.

To make the matters worse, our parliament & all state assemblies are suspended in the name of emergency. It is an irony that meanwhile all the schools, cinemas, reflexology centres and even night markets are allowed to operate. It is crystal clear the PN government has no commitment for reforms & they will do anything including destroying our country’s democracy just for them to stay in power.

This is really too much to stomach.

Our country cannot carry on this way. We badly need a new leadership which is committed to Reform agenda & promote multiracial politics that unite instead of dividing Malaysians.

Since 1998, Anwar Ibrahim has been the beacon of hope that propelled a reform movement based on multiracial political platform, he was tested many times yet he persevered & was even magnanimous to forgive Tun Dr Mahathir. It is undeniable Anwar Ibrahim does carry some baggage but which Malaysian politicians are saints & do not carry any baggage?

As the former Deputy Speaker of Dewan Rakyat, I witnessed how committed Anwar Ibrahim was to implement the reform agenda, be it institutional reforms or parliamentary reforms.

During the period when I served as Dewan Deputy Speaker , Anwar was always the first leader to show concern & enquired about progress of our parliamentary reforms including the drafting of Parliament Services Act & the parliament’s caucus on reforms.

When faced with ferocious attack by political opponents including from Tun Dr Mahathir, Anwar chose to focus on people’s plights instead of engaging with the war of words. He has gone through the worst any politicians can ask for but what doesn’t kill him simply makes him stronger.

He has been insulted, jailed, humiliated, betrayed even by his protege but Anwar did not give up but continued to soldier on.

A great leadership will only be manifested when you are put to test & i believe Anwar Ibrahim had the necessary credentials & character to take our country to a greater height based on a multiracial Malaysian agenda.

Anwar Ibrahim is among the very few Malaysian political leaders who are capable of representing the country at world stage. He has good international diplomatic network including with the United States and Turkey. Such a network is useful when we need strategic smart partnership to develop our country so that the well being of our people can be well taken care of.

Let me say it, no one is perfect including Anwar but history will prove that he should be given an opportunity to rebuild our nation and make Malaysia a great nation, well respected again.

Malaysians have to decide which path we want to take. I believe Anwar Ibrahim is the most viable option & he definitely deserves a chance.

Last but not the least, you may disagree with what I write but at least give Anwar a chance to prove himself. It will never be too late to reject him but only after he is given a chance.