As the realisation finally sinks in, the whole country and Barisan Nasional and Umno in particular, are trying to sort out what to do after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's departure.
It is also time to ponder what Mahathir must do before he resigns.
As the longest serving Malaysian premier and also the one that has dominated the current policies and future direction of the country, the PM cannot leave crucial policies unspoken or unchanged especially those he has been instrumental in shaping or influencing.
The biggest two issues Mahathir has to set straight before he leaves is:
The removal of currency peg is absolutely crucial because it is nothing but a protectionist monetary policy that could spell disaster for the economy at some time in the future. Not removing the peg before he leaves office is inviting economic apathy and abuse of fiscal and monetary tools in managing the economy.
Removing the peg takes political courage and if left to the device of future leaders may not be so easily done. Until now, the peg is unchallenged because of difficult external circumstances and has little to do with the fundamental strength of the long-term direction of the Malaysian economy.
Such a lucky state will not last forever as the only sure thing is that global competition can only increase and can come from any direction. The only choice we have is to continue to integrate our economy to the rest of the world and the first thing in this regard is a free-floating currency that will ensure that our industries and economic managers are prepared for global competitiveness.
From Latin America, to Hong Kong and China, most have learned that a currency peg is a very hard thing to live by. Malaysia, sadly has none of the strengths of countries like Hong Kong and China, and is closer to the Latin American economies that have experimented with the currency peg. Hence it is highly crucial that the peg be removed before we go down the way of Argentina and Brazil.
The second biggest issue Mahathir must make clear is meritocracy and eventual equality among the races. He is probably the last PM to have been politically active about the time of our nation's independence.
He is the only person left that can truly set the record straight about the intentions of the founders of this nation. As Mahathir has dominated the political scene for so long, he is the only person who really has all the facts about the actual pros and cons of so-called 'Malay rights'.
Did the founders intend to give special privileges to the bumiputra (as was done during the last two decades) or did they merely recognised the special needs of the bumiputra? If fair debate is allowed, it is obvious that founders of MCA, MIC and parties of Sarawak and Sabah have different interpretations of these rights.
It is also obvious that former premiers Tunku Abdul Rahman, Onn Bin Jaafar and Hussein Onn, did not also intend for such inequalities either. By the time of the country's independence, equality of citizens was a fundamental cornerstone of all nations, especially new ones.
That is why apartheid was condemned year after year by all nations until it was removed. Malaysia could have been founded on one race having more rights than others no matter who or how many say otherwise.
If Mahathir truly champions the vision of 'Bangsa Malaysia', he must set the record straight and not let racial relations ravage this country further or he will have to be partly responsible for it.
He should also restore or at least set in progress a return to meritocracy in the country. Or we will never achieve the excellence that he has dreamt about for the country. The government will never be able to reduce corruption and inefficiencies without full meritocracy.
Not to put things in order before leaving is nothing short of being irresponsible. As a parting message and fitting legacy, he must clearly state it absolutely and leave nothing to chance.
If he truly sees himself as the saviour of the Malay race, he must make it absolutely clear that the New Economic Policy must be removed and if possible when.
The NEP is a welfare system that has become a crutch holding back the Malays and will never achieve its goals no matter how well intended. It is a policy that has been made possible partly because of our rich oil and other natural resources that will eventually run out.
Hence it is absolutely crucial that the path be set right now less we are not fortunate enough to have strong leaders than can do it within the period.
Time is running out and the issue of currency peg and meritocracy should be set straight now. If the global economy recovers strongly and Malaysia continues to lose competitiveness, probably within the five years, the currency peg will cripple us.
To make sure meritocracy has the desired impact, it will take at least a generation of education and training — take this to mean at least 18 years — to make sure Malaysians have the skills to face real global competition.
In view of the hectic timetable, Mahathir must resolve all the outstanding issues before he leaves office or his legacy will be tarnished as we face the worst consequence of his inaction.
