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QUESTION TIME | This is a rather big “if” given an opposition which is in disarray, not least because it can’t even decide on a prime minister from a field which includes jailed Anwar Ibrahim, his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and Bersatu’s Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin.

Let us first rule out, in the interim, Anwar who cannot become prime minister immediately because he is convicted and in jail, and he would not be a member of Parliament then. We will come back to him later.

Take opposition leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail first. As the parliamentary opposition leader, she should be the natural candidate. If there is a need for an interim prime minister until Anwar is pardoned, stands at a by-election and takes over, she is the best and most trustworthy candidate there can be.

She is without doubt the best seat-warmer there can be if that is the intention of the coalition - and it is certainly the intention of PKR. Wan Azizah has declared that she is happy to do so. There is nothing wrong if the reasons are right.

"I don't mind," said Wan Azizah on an Al Jazeera interview. "Frankly, he's a better leader. He's a better administrator. He's a better guy for the job. Why not?"

Indeed, why not. That was implicit in the previous general elections, so why is there this change now? The entrance of Bersatu - Mahathir and Muhyiddin and Mahathir’s son Mukhriz, the three M’s if you will - into the coalition. Their entry has changed the entire complexion of the coalition. Time will tell whether it is for the better or for worse.

But let’s move down the line - although Rafizi is a candidate for interim prime minister, he does not want to be. He is one of the loudest advocates for Anwar becoming prime minister through Wan Azizah as an interim PM. Mat Sabu is similarly likely to decline, not being the type to covet the top position from a party whose position needs building right now.

That leaves Mahathir or Muhyiddin as serious contenders to Wan Azizah. Leaving aside the personalities, let’s look at the party first - Bersatu. How many MPs has it got - one, Muhyiddin with a tainted past. And one state assemblyperson, Mukhriz. And a rather charismatic, wily old fox of an ex-prime minister who is not even an MP or a state assemblyperson but has managed to position himself as one who is indispensable to the opposition effort now.

Harapan must be crazy to choose their interim prime minister from this lot. Even if either of them undertook to become interim PM to pave the way for Anwar eventually, they cannot be trusted to do so - remember the power of incumbency is great and in the aftermath of defeat, there are many Umno members waiting to jump into the victorious ship.

To make sure Mahathir and Muhyiddin stand a chance of becoming prime minister, the Bersatu Youth chief has come up with an ingeniously devious Mahathir-like plan - let the people decide who should be the prime minister if Harapan wins. Harapan should commission an independent survey to do that, he said.

No, that’s not the way - Harapan, or specifically the partners in this coalition, should decide who they want for prime minister and how, and then the people will decide whether they want Harapan for them. That’s how the Westminster brand of parliamentary democracy operates...

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