NOVEMBER 16’s parliamentary by-election in Tg Piai, Johor is a watershed event at the cross road of the nation’s destiny towards a new Malaysia.

The landslide victory for the opposition, of a seat held by Pakatan Harapan before this, is a cause of grave concern for the newly installed government.

I am sure there will be a lot of analysis and post-mortems carried out to determine what when wrong and what needs to be rectified.

Until they find out what when wrong, all lawmakers will probably be asked to look after their health and go through regular medical check-ups so that no one drops dead and result in another by election.

Another reminder that we are all mortal and will therefore need to answer to God Almighty for our earthly actions besides our political party.

It is also a referendum of sorts of the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamed. And what an outcome it was. In political terms it was a KO – a knockout.

The results should, in my humble view, help the prime minister to hasten the power transition for the good of the nation.

The uncertainty about the leadership of the nation has resulted in businesses holding back their investments and expansion.

This uncertainty has also diverted the attention of the nation from more pressing issues such as rejuvenating the economy, eradication of rampant corruption, and reforms of checks and balances, and institutional reforms.

The prime minister is 94 years old and not at his prime. From a health standpoint, he has undergone two major heart surgeries.

If anything happens to him, with no clear transition time frame, it may be detrimental to the country’s political stability.

The retirement age for civil servants is 60 years old. For judges, it is 65 years.

This indicates, the prime time for a person to contribute actively before he goes into a more advisory, less day-to-day role.

Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore retired at the age of 65 on the premise that there are more capable, younger leaders that can contribute to nation building effectively.

Assuming politicians are “supermen”, the extended retirement date should still not be too far off.

Many countries have term limitations for their head of government to prevent leaders wearing out their welcome.

The prime minister has not been able to carry out the reform agenda for whatever reason known to him.

Good intention if not communicated well, will not be understood by the people. He is not a reformist in the first place.

In fact, his style of leadership and policies were the target of reformist all along.

The people who wanted change from the corrupt and incompetent regime before, accepted Dr Mahathir as an interim prime minister for his vast experience.

This condition is docked on the premise that Anwar Ibrahim, who is the icon of the reform movement takes over as soon as he is pardoned within two years of the 14th general election.

Again, this decision is to be made by the party that holds the most number of seats in Parliament.

Malaysia need to move away from a third world feudalistic mindset that the leader is everything and all.

He is the reason for the nations advance and well-being. Excluding the 31 million other Malaysian’s contribution to nation building is unfair and inaccurate.

What we need are national institutions that are independent, with high integrity, a nation that respects the constitution and its laws.

Courageous citizens who mind these institutions and are not easily bullied by the people in power.

The separation of powers of the executive, legislature and judiciary is sacrosanct once this line is crossed, there may not be a stop to the transgressions as we have witnessed in the previous regime.

To Dr Mahathir, your legacy is well entrenched in the annals of the nation’s history.

The people will honour your contribution to the nation. For that, we thank you. – November 18, 2019.

* Mohd Jamaludin Mohamed Shamsudin reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.