The right man for the job

There's a place and time for everything. This is Dr M's time. Give him two years to right the wrongs in this country.

Some people feel Anwar should take over from Dr M as soon as possible. That's because these people feel Anwar is more of a true reformer than Dr M. They also dislike some of Dr M's authoritarian tendencies and fear that he would go back to his old ways.

Many were dismayed when it was revealed that Anwar will not be returning to active politics so soon. He wants to spend some time with the family and on some speaking tours as well as take up some short-term fellowships in universities overseas.

I believe this is a good thing. Right now, in this period of transition, we need someone stern and determined to get certain things done in double quick time. There are reports Dr M only gets a couple of hours of sleep every night and he did look extremely tired at yesterday's press conference.

Dr M is a man in a hurry because he doesn't have a lot of time. For one thing, he had agreed to hand over the baton in about two years. And secondly, he is 93 years old now. Every moment counts.

His steely determination and his great sense of urgency will propel Pakatan's agenda forward and allow them to achieve much of what they had promised to do within 100 days. For sure they will fall short on some things but what's important is that the main things are achieved.

But some things are happening faster than expected. Initially we thought it might take more than 100 days for GST to be removed. Former Bank Negara Governor Zeti had indicated as much. Then Dr M made it happen just like that (well, technically we have to wait til June but it's a done deal).

Dr M is getting rid of some 17,000 political appointees, which will save the government a lot of money. He is prosecuting the 1MDB case agressively. He has said heads will roll and has decisively imposed travel bans on several top-ranking individuals including the AG and former IGP.

He is moving at a breakneck speed. Anwar would have been slower and probably would have tried to build more consensus before doing anything. He also would have been more forgiving and softer. That's good in some ways but right now what we need is someone hard and unmerciful in executing what needs to be done.

Anwar himself has admitted as much:

"Probably he seems to be the right man… I am a bit more moderate and have a softer image. Because of how I suffered, I always think how any decision would cause sufferings to those affected. So I'm a bit more considerate… and that may not be good in these times when we have to make sure the elements of the old regime do not resurface."

To a friend who told me last night that he thinks Anwar should take over the PM-ship sooner rather than later, I say this: There's a place and time for everything. This is Dr M's time. Give him 100 days to fulfill the manifesto's promises and two years to right many of the wrongs in this country. His personality, his tenacity, his political will -- these are all things that make him eminently suitable for the work that needs to be done now. Two years from now we should have a better country for Anwar to take over and take to greater heights.