LETTER | Too early to call Anwar to give way to Shafie

LETTER | There are numerous murmurs within Pakatan Harapan and some activists who have started to train their guns on Anwar Ibrahim to step aside and give way to Warisan president Shafie Apdal to lead the opposition.  

To the critics, may I ask who started the reformist movement in the country? 

Who has faced long jail sentences in fighting a noble cause in all spheres of our governing system, be it political, economic and social?

Who has offered a new hope to reform our abused democratic system?

Who had the guts to boldly state will treat all races equally in this country?

Who has better international relations and recognition to bring in the necessary investments for the Malaysian economy when recovery takes place? Anwar or Shafie?

Shafie too has his flaws when he could not save the Warisan state government from Muhyiddin Yassin who infamously boosted his ego by recapturing Sabah.

Incidentally, it also ignited the sudden surge of Covid-19 cases and led to hundreds of deaths in the state.

Why blame Anwar for all the political mishaps Harapan is facing today when several DAP and Amanah leaders did not level against Dr Mahathir Mohamad who was mainly to be blamed for the collapse of the Harapan government.  

Wasn't it Mahathir who held his hands high having attended the infamous Malay Muslim gathering with PAS, Umno etc?

This is not the time to fight among the Harapan leaders. Consolidate, unite and work towards telling our Sarawak GPS politicians that for far too long they have been taken for a long ride by BN and PN.

The hope for the country is for a leader to be compassionate to all races. Go back to the basic foundation of democratic principles that led to the social contract signed in 1957 to free the country from British rule. 

Anwar and Harapan are the only hope the country has in its reform agenda. 

The Federal Constitution spells out clearly the need to create a Malaysian identity but what we see and hear almost daily are about the bumiputera and ketuanan. 

In the eyes of any religion, all men are equal.   

Give Harapan a strong mandate in the next general election and let Anwar prove his point.

P SIVAKUMAR is the president of Johor Indian Business Association (Jiba).

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.