how will i remember pak lah and what najib should do to be a better prime minister

pak lah has finally made a decision to quit as prime minister in march next year. for many malaysians, this came as no surprise as calls for his resignation grew loud and clear right before the announcement was made. when pak lah took over the government in 2004, expectation was high that he would change the course of malaysian politics marred by incompetence of the civil service, high level of corruption and the deeply ethnicised malaysian society. perhaps, pak lah only managed to catch the small fish but not the big ones as many have complained. the arrests of several high profile public figures failed to ease the demands for pak lah to do something fundamentally drastic to end corrupt practices. pak lah did manage to allow some democratic spaces for malaysian to enjoy but his refusal to put to an end the use of several repressive laws made him look like unwilling to seriously address changes that many malaysians want to see.

despite all the criticims to his leadership, i think pak lah deserves some respect for his courage in admitting his mistakes and his willingness to bring reforms to malaysia. one of the most important marks that he has left and one which he will be best remembered for is his effort in ensuring the more open malaysia: blogs critical to his leadership are allowed to operate (except those that are truly radical ones); newspapers reports condemning his leadership weaknesses are not outrightly dismissed; and we, the malaysians, are given the avenues to express our dissatisfaction on a number of critical issues. pak lah listened. had he decided to let his ego reigns, he would pretend to not knowing what is happening around him and he would use whatever ways and means (including the wicked ones) to hold on to power. but he did not. he was willing to step aside and pass on the baton to his controversial number two najib razak. or maybe this is just pak lah's political game as many have suggested. i personally do not know. i hope pak lah is sincere.

now that najib will be given the top job come march next year. others are still not convinced that the deputy premier are free from all the scandals implicating his name. here is what najib should do to be a better prime minister: a) clear up his name and use the approriate laws to convict those who are out to destroy his reputation (he should not just simply use the isa to shut their mouths up); b) continue all the reform promises made by pak lah; c) bring back the confidence of the chinese, indians and minorities that malaysia is for all irrespective race and religion; d) revive the economy so that it can be more resilient to challenges such as the current economic meltdown in the us; and e) perhaps the most important is not to let mahathir influence his mind.

i am skeptical that pak lah will be successful in initiating some changes he promised to make in his remaining five months in office. perhaps what pak lah must do is to put back his reform agenda in proper perspective and start looking for trustworthy talents to execute the plan. to najib, i wish him all the best in bringing malaysia to greater heights and to pak lah thank you for all the good things that you have done.