Should leaders be forced to retire? Or should they be allowed to take their own sweet time to voluntarily retire?

Once they have tasted power, with all the salaries, perks, creature benefits, bodyguards, chauffeur-driven cars and jolly trips overseas at taxpayers' expense, they are extremely reluctant to give up power. It is human nature to stay on until the Almighty God calls them that it is time to call a day! They are unwilling to accept the fact that their shelf-life has been bridged; and that they should gracefully retire.

However, apart from waiting for them to relinquish their positions voluntarily, there are a few other options.

One, the voters should kick them out. By their defeat, they should realise that they are no more wanted and that they have failed to deliver the goods. They are thus not fit to be returned as MPs or state assemblyperson.

Another option is not to make them senators, even if they go on bended knee. Regrettably, some prime ministers' knees become soft like tofu when these shameless rejects come begging for some positions. In our present cabinet, for example, we have some who have been rejected by the voters and have become ministers through the back-door. And of course, there are others who have been rejected by their party delegates at their party elections.

And what is ironic is that there are some who have become MPs and have also won party elections and who have great credentials but have not become ministers or deputy ministers. One good example is Khairy Jamaluddin who won Rembau and is Umno Youth chief. It beats my logical thinking how he was left out in the cabinet.

A third option is to state clearly that a president, deputy president and a vice-president can only be in office for three terms of three years each And no defeated candidate can become minister or deputy minister.

Set the ground rules and play by the rules of the game. Do not change rules in mid-stream; and shift the goal-posts to suit the changing situations. A leader must have principles; and must stick to principles, rain or shine, thunder or lightning. He should not hit below the belt because he is losing or has lost.

Voters will get more and more disillusioned if we do not play fair and square. Play by the rules of the game. This disillusionment will boil over in 2013 when the war will be fought again.

Those who ignore history will be condemned when history is repeated!

Lose the battle and win the war!