DEAR Mr Anwar,

The world is brimming with ambitious political leaders, but sadly very few match up to the required traits.

In fact, many political leaders severely lack the most essential qualities, such as integrity and accountability. Only a handful come near to the principles of leadership.

Not many may agree with this, but to 51% of people who voted on May 9, 2018, you are one of those.

As you may be aware, political leadership requires a leader to focus on a country’s long-term betterment, above and beyond any short-term personal objectives.

It also requires a mixture of charm and honesty, which you have demonstrated, coupled with the capacity to evaluate a circumstance and make a judgment based on what will be better for the majority.

Above all, leadership needs the statesmanship to stand up for what is fair, even though it means resigning from a or losing an election.

A successful leader has a visionary dream and understands how to turn his visions into success stories.

A political leader’s first goal should be representing the government, not just him or herself. Given the reality that politics may be complicated and often messy, a strong leader should balance actions with what is right for a nation and living by the maxim: “the nation before self”.

Consequently, a political leader will be able to take severe actions in the interest of the country if required.

Leaders will have the correct expertise to take prompt and reasonable actions based on sound judgment.

In your time as the deputy prime minister, you developed a global perspective of things, travelling widely.

You established valuable networks and expertise with other internationally renowned leaders, attended important gatherings within and without the country, guided, honoured, and listened to your supporters while encouraging mutual accountability and teamwork.

On that fateful day in September 1998, hundreds of thousands of Malaysians, from all walks of life, occupied one of Kuala Lumpur’s main arteries – Dataran Merdeka – unlike anything seen in Malaysia, before protesting actions against you.

Again, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest when you were sentenced to six years in prison in April 1999.

Your journey culminated in that day in May 2018 when, after several attempts, the country finally saw a change in government.

Unfortunately, events post February 2020 denied you what apparently was an agreement for you to assume the mantle of leading the country as the eighth prime minister.

Since then, nature charted a different course for the country. There was a change of prime ministers and the introduction of young people into the voting system, thus altering the voting landscape in the country for years to come.

In the two years since, the Barisan Nasional coalition has made an unprecedented comeback to national politics.

To date, BN appears far ahead of its rivals, including your Pakatan Harapan coalition.

BN is projected to win a general election and return to power, if is to be held within the next six to nine months.

One data point stands out: people who voted for BN did not appear to have lost trust in the coalition, while those who voted for you in 2018 either voted for BN or did not vote at all.

Even though he has become the most divisive figure, Najib Razak appears to play a leading role in the revival of the BN coalition, portraying himself as a person with a heart.

In the campaigns and rallies he attended in Malacca and Johor, he never really intended to make fun of others, or malign anyone.

However, your coalition cried foul over the billions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth and his conviction by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

He was accused of stealing billions from the state coffers, a claim he repeatedly denied even though authorities already have recovered billions in agreed settlements with parties connected to 1MDB.

His opponents repeatedly bring up his conviction, which appears to be backfiring. This is not because people now like him, it is just that this mantra is repeated too often.

Now, it plays to his claim that he was being victimised. No one likes that, while voters approve of his promise to return the country to growth.

At present, it is almost impossible to distinguish between propaganda and genuine support for him. His supporters already argue that the return of BN to rule the country will signal the country’s democracy is moving forward and looking to the future.

While the PH coalition is still arguing that victory for BN signals democracy’s failure to hold corrupt politicians accountable and an indictment of the country’s complete failure to institute the rule of law.

BN has been advocating stability and return to growth as a means of lifting the country from the economic doldrums of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Some 51% of those who voted for PH in 2018 say a BN victory in the next general election would pose a huge threat to democracy and the wellbeing of this country.

Already, the country has experienced the incompetency of the last two governments. What it needs badly, but can never be done, is to cure its festering universal corruption.

If the current crop of leaders from both sides of the divide were to continue ruling and managing this country, it will make this problem worse, not better.

Come the next general election and another five years hence, a substantial portion of the voters in Malaysia will be under 30.

In the coming poll, the majority of these voters were not even born when you were jailed in 1999. Thus, these voters never experienced the massive crackdown that followed, or the later scandals.

All these young voters use TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. To them, PH does not offer a refreshing alternative.

They viewed the past two administrations as failing to solve the deep-seated corruption that dominated the daily lives of so many Malaysians.

Both fell short of fulfilling the fundamental ideals and aspirations of the rakyat.  

BN has been selling the idea that its period of rule was the golden age of development, while PH has become increasingly personalised over time behaving along ideological lines that are predictable with regard to a variety of issues, limiting the ability of the coalition to manoeuvre.

The coming election is not just a battle for the nation’s narrative but the future of the generations of Millennials and Gen Z.

The world in the next few years will be radically transformed from our world today. No country, whether the US, China, or any other large country will be a hegemonic power.

The empowerment of individuals and diffusion of power among states and from states to informal networks will have a dramatic impact, potentially restoring Asia’s weight in the global economy.

Key features of our global environment will change, affecting how the world works.

The future of work for your grandchildren will look very different to the one that your children are educated for right now.

Those students would be learning how to think and thrive in the complex and interconnected world.

Do not let these new generation grows up loving the country but hating the government.

You and your leaders owe it to the Millennials, Gen Z and future generations to let them to decide how this country should be managed according to their collective ideals.

It is no longer about being the ‘glue’ that holds the coalition together. It was critical at one point because movement of people between parties was limited or rare and political identification was strong.

The world is moving so fast now that you have people moving from places to places in search of opportunities. Identification with parties will weaken further until a day where potentially all politicians will start seeing the political landscape as one single coalition.

For your generation, the aspiration was for peace, prosperity and unity. For the Millennials and Gen Z, it is an aspiration of a world full of new technologies where they can be who they are, live where they like, love who they want and aim as high as they want and a more inclusive and open approach to the way the country works.

If you want to genuinely hope the country is able to compete and be among the best in the world, you need to catalyse a shift for PH to be led by the Millennials and Gen Z now, so that they are equipped with strategies to promote the country as soon as possible.

They will know how to invest in wellbeing projects because their children’s future demands it.

You can be assured that the Millennials and Gen Z will continue with your vision of a nation where all citizens will be given due respect, regardless of sex, ethnicity, or disability.

They have already demonstrated that they put others first with the work and initiatives they put in for the white flag movement and the flood relief programmes nationwide.

Nothing shows your love for the country more than for you to offer the next generation of leaders the opportunity to take over the leadership of your party now.

This way, they can enter the next general election fully prepared with new ideas and ideals. Allow these new generation of leaders time to create their own image that defines how this country will look with them in power.

Naming your daughter, Nurul Izzah to assume your mantle immediately will cement your legacy as a true leader who put his love for the country above all his other ambitions and aspirations. – April 4, 2022.

* FLK 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.