John Lee's letter raises some interesting points. He says that the opposition has no plan and only knows how to criticise. That is why he feels that he cannot trust the opposition if they were in power.

My question is, notwithstanding PAS and its Islamic state ideologies, what plan does a new leader need to run this country. I think most Malaysians agree that we have a very good system of governance and administration in place. The problem lies in its execution and abuses practised by our present leaders. Any new leader will maybe tweak the system but I do not envisage a radical change.

What about policies to take us into the future and be relevant especially in the global arena? How do we remain competitive locally and internationally? From what I have seen of our present crop of leaders, some can't even put two sentences together let alone formulate policy. We have a very heavy cabinet full of ministers and deputy ministers, some appointed not so much for their ability but as a reward for political patronage. The fate of the country is actually in the hands of only an elite handful and will we really miss this lot if they all go?

With this backdrop we should instead ask ourselves will the leader from the opposition be a better prime minister than one from the Barisan Nasional, which brings me nicely to his next point about Anwar Ibrahim, the most obvious candidate for many to challenge the present leaders.

Make no bones, Anwar is no angel but are we really looking for an angel to run our country? In his favour he has all the credentials required for the post of PM and he has also shown that he has the stomach for it. Yes, he was naive to take on Dr Mahathir Mohamad perhaps fueled by greed and impatience, but Mahathir's ill conceived treatment of him only added to Anwar's fame and notoriety.

It is too early for Anwar to make a comeback and besides the government is doing a pretty good job of shooting itself in the foot nowadays. I am sure however that he will return in a big way when the time is right, where then we will ask ourselves, can the irresistible force overcome the immovable object? Depends on which side you're on I guess.