I support Prime Minister Najib Razak's call for the opposition to announce their shadow cabinet. The prime minister correctly argued that a shadow cabinet is important if a two-party system (or, more accurately a two-coalition system) were to be strengthened in Malaysia.

The existence of a shadow cabinet will ensure there is a focus on policy matters, allowing the right persons to lead debates on specific policy issues.

Pakatan Rakyat's failures to announce their federal shadow cabinet line-up despite an increased presence in the parliament is saddening. I urge Pakatan leaders to fix this problem.

It is even more sad to see the failure of BN to announce their own state shadow cabinets in the states where they are opposition. Despite the rhetorics of top BN leaders, there has never been a shadow cabinet in Kedah, Penang, Selangor, and Kelantan.

The prime minister is absolutely right when he said that failure to announce a shadow cabinet is a sign of failure to agree on who should hold what post, which in turn indicates that the opposition parties may not be able to inspire public confidence. The truthfulness and the

generic nature of this powerful argument makes it applicable equally to both Pakatan and BN.

I urge all BN component parties to take heed from the wisdom of the prime minister, and announce their shadow cabinet line up now. As responsible oppositions in Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Kelantan, they must not allow people to say that they are just the same as Pakatan because they too have failed to form a clear shadow state cabinet.

As we get closer to the general elections, the BN opposition at state level must not allow voters to say that the prime minister is just a pot calling the kettle black.

The writer is chief executive of Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas)