YOURSAY | Now that PM fight is settled, next stop GE15

YOURSAY | 'I am angry and I have every right to be. My Malaysia is a failure.'

Ismail Sabri's meteoric rise, and his controversies

Mixed reactions from opposition over Ismail Sabri’s appointment

Oriole: Today marks a major failure in Malaysia’s democratic processes. This will have far-reaching implications for the country’s politics and its people.

Rewarding and enabling illegitimate administrations sets a precedent that will lead to further erosion of the democratic processes. Many parties are responsible for the current destruction of this fragile nation. So, congratulations to all responsible.

Goliath: This is mediocrity at its best. And Umno dressed him up, shoved him to be the lead in this grand puppet show. I hope the smarter folks in this Perikatan Nasional coalition, if there are any at all, understand what they have done to this beloved country of ours.

The insanity of supporting and promoting someone so mediocre to lead the country shows how willing they are to destroy a country for power.

Jingo: I am angry and I have every right to be. My Malaysia is a failure.

I am not the cause. I voted rightly. I and all Malaysians who love her voted and removed the corrupt regime and now they are back.

Helpless, I feel. Let down by our leaders. I am leaving. Hopelessness is what I feel. You can have her to destroy. Tears are all I can offer.

Hang Babeuf: A "Being There" man. His "pay grade" is way above his talent.

From zero to hero. A tricky social experiment. At public national expense. He gets the benefits, the people take the risks and bear the pain.

FairMalaysian: DAP leaders Tony Pua and Ong Kian Ming should not feel bad now that Umno's Ismail Sabri Yaakob is the PM.

These are difficult times, prompting difficult decisions. But I still hold that it was right for Pakatan Harapan to spurn the overtures of Muhyiddin Yassin.

It does not escape us that accepting Muhyiddin's offer may have given the opportunity to Muhyiddin to keep Umno at a distance, but the battle is between both Bersatu and Umno and they should fight it out to determine among themselves who earns the right to represent the Malays. It may even be a case that both may lose out.

Despite the constant claim of, and for, Malay unity, these Malay parties have been bickering among themselves and have been at each other’s throats. Supporting any of these Malay parties may cause a breakup in Harapan.

While this may appear laughable, the prospect is real. Why should Harapan be dragged into a slinging match between Bersatu and Umno? Besides the mudslinging and being dragged along with it, it will almost certainly affect the standing of Harapan among its supporters.

I wonder what Ismail Sabri can and will do now what he did not or could not do before.

The irony of it all was the constant battering from Umno on the poor performance in reining in the Covid-19 numbers, both the daily infections and deaths. Now that one of its own is in power, how will this play out?

Aegis: There is no sure-win in politics, especially in Malaysia. Pua has the right to be upset but Muhyiddin’s offer was rejected by all the opposition leaders.

It is over for now and there is no point harping on it. Let's move on, help the rakyat as much as possible and get ready for GE15.

Pakatan Rakyat, and later Harapan, made great strides since GE12 in 2008 (BN won 140 seats then). There is a consistent improvement in every election - from denying BN a two-thirds majority in GE12 to getting the popular vote in GE13 and winning in GE14.

The wheels of democracy turn slowly, but it is moving in the right direction. It can be done again.

RedWolf4463: It’s time for Harapan to regroup and consolidate. Ismail Sabri’s appointment is a done deal. Now, put aside the recriminations and do a deep self-reflection behind closed doors and re-strategise.

These few days have shown that Harapan and its allies can put aside differences and unite, either willingly or grudgingly, for a common goal. That includes Pejuang and Warisan. Their ability to compromise and seek common ground will be further tested in the days ahead leading to GE15.

It is what you can learn or are willing to learn from this episode that is more important now than crying over what could not be yours in the first place.

Salvage Malaysia: Everyone deserves a chance to perform. Let’s give our PM9 a chance and save any criticisms for later if things again don’t work out.

GreenViper4010: He already had his chance to "perform". He failed. Malaysia will live to rue this day.

KL Bob: Today's food for thought:

It once happened, on a certain day, a bull and a pheasant were on a field. The bull was grazing the grass, the pheasant was picking ticks off the bull; they were partners.

Then the pheasant looked at a huge tree which was at the edge of the field, and very nostalgically said, "Alas, there was a time when I could fly to the topmost branch, but today I do not have the strength even to fly to its first branch."

The bull very nonchalantly said, "That's no problem! Eat a little bit of my dung every day, you will see; within a fortnight, you can fly to the top of the tree."

The pheasant said, "Oh, come off it! How is that possible?"

The bull replied, "Really, try and see. The whole humanity is on it, you could try, too."

Very hesitantly, the pheasant started pecking at the dung, and lo and behold, on the very first day, it reached the first branch of the tree. In a fortnight, it reached the topmost branch. It sat there and enjoyed the scenery.

The old farmer saw the fat pheasant on the top of the tree. He took out his shotgun and shot it dead.

The moral of the story: Bullshit can get you to the top, but never let you stay there.

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