Kadir: Good in having Azmin as opposition leader
Kadir Jasin says he’ll attract more of the younger generation to Pakatan.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Pakatan Rakyat could add to its youthful image by choosing Azmin Ali as the Parliamentary Opposition leader, veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin (pic) says in his latest blog posting.
He acknowledges that the position need not be given to a PKR leader, but says the party should be given the first right of refusal as Pakatan’s show of solidarity with Anwar Ibrahim.
He says the question of Anwar’s replacement is an important one if Pakatan wants to use the issue of his imprisonment as a new catalyst to quicken its march to Putrajaya.
The choice of Azmin, he adds, would bring more youthfulness to the Pakatan leadership and be an added encouragement to the younger generation to support the opposition coalition.
“The decision has to be made soon because the Dewan Rakyat’s first meeting this year will begin on March 9,” he says.
Kadir, who is a close associate of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, devoted much of the rest of his article to the questions of Barisan Nasional’s weakness and Umno’s “sickness”.
He says there’s no denying that Barisan Nasional is under serious threat of defeat at the next general election and the fallout from the imprisonment of Anwar Ibrahim could make matters worse.
“It’s not as if Umno is not aware of its current condition,” he writes. “I’m certain that Umno knows the sickness it’s suffering from.” He says Umno is aging and needs a “radical stem cell treatment” to arrest the process.
