At the moment I do not have faith in any politician on the horizon, so I would not venture to nominate acandidate for the next prime minister. However, I think this discussion has a broader significance than simply naming particular individual candidates.

In a way, this inquiry has become an opportunity for malaysiakini readers to voice their frustrations toward the current state of affairs as well as to express their hope toward the next chapter of Malaysia's history.

The 'idealists' Mat Zom and Oali both hope to see Rais Yatim as the next PM, based on his (disowned) academic achievements; SS Singh even suggested that the choice should not be limited to Umno politicians. Unfortunately, as Mustapha Ong Abdullah reminds us, we are living in the real world, and there is no way 'merit' and 'ability' would be the primary factors that Dr Mahathir Mohamad would take into account in his appointment of his successor.

Choosing the next PM, in addition, is also about legacy. It is about what Dr M wants to leave behind for Malaysians, and how he wants to be remembered by history, to the maximum extent he is able to control. The most obvious way to protect and strengthen his legacy is to choose a 'successor' in the fullest sense of the word — someone who is going to safeguard the achievements of Dr M (not only for the country, but also for his family, friends and party), as well as to continue doing what he has not completed, and to correct the mistakes he might have committed.

My point is, to Dr M, the longer term considerations are going to be much more important than, say, Umno politics at the moment and the image of Malaysia to the rest of the world as reflected by the 'intellectual quality' of its next PM.

Therefore, although Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is not a popular enough leader among Umno members, Dr M is still the 'centre of the universe' at the moment, and there is a lot he could still do to change the political landscape in the direction he wants. As a result, any perceived obstacles against his freedom of choosing successor are not assignificant as what he will want to achieve — what legacy does he want to leave behind. Perhaps, we should tell him what we , as citizens, would like to see as his legacy.

Despite all his 'sins', I am still a loyal admirer of Mahathir, the visionary statesman. I think his vision will/should be the main factor which will make or break his legacy in Malaysian history. Therefore, I hope he would not forget about his Vision 2020, and would try to leave behind a concrete foundation for building it (even if it has to wait until 2050).

In the remaining time he has in office, he should do as much as possible to strengthen the likelihood of this legacy being realised. Otherwise, he should appoint a successor who is most likely to achieve it — with a PhD or not.

First, he should clean up the mess in the economy, especially corruption, cronyism and nepotism. However, I realise that this might implicate a lot of 'his people', hence correcting 'past injustices' would be unlikely. Nevertheless, he should leave strong and healthy institutions in place to safeguard the people's interests in 'future cases'. This is crucially important because the future growth and competitiveness of the Malaysian economy very much depends on this.

Secondly, he should repair the checks and balances in our legal and political systems. One of the greatest damages he has done to the country is to undermine the independence and strength of the judicial branch and the separation of powers as a whole.

He should restore the rule of law, allow the judiciary to rebuild its integrity and reputation, and be willing to subject the powers of the government to legal scrutiny (at least in the area of economic power and corruption of the government, if unlikely with regard to his favourite game — the Internal Security Act.)

I would also include the independence of media and the freedom of speech. Ibelieve that Dr M, as an experienced and visionary statesman, should realise that it is impossible to build an advance, healthy and mature society without these basic building blocks in place, which could channel the society's struggles and conflicts, from the instability of violence and behind-closed-doors politics, to more open and peaceful forums.

Thirdly, I hope he has the courage to repair and strengthen the ethnic relationships of the country. Injustices like Kampung Medan and the labeling of some Chinese as 'communists' (though he probably meant 'best friends', as the term is used by Bernama lately) should be corrected and resolved once and for all.

If even a statesman of his stature (with nothing to lose but much to gain) would not have the courage to apologise for his government's mistakes, it is hard to see any leader who will do the right thing for all the rakyat (people). He should also reconsider controversial policies like the vision schools, and make his supporters recognise the virtues and valuable contributions that diversity and multiculturalism have brought to this great country.

It is very rare in world history to find a leader who enjoys so much power, respect, admiration, awe and fear on one hand, and is associated with so much criticisms, disappointments, controversies on the other. Much good has been done by Dr M, as well as plenty of mischiefs, yet he still inspires hope in me. It is perhaps time for him to do more good and rectify the mischiefs, and leave the best legacy any Malaysian PM, past and perhaps future, could ever leave to this country.

After all, despite all the talks about who should be the next PM, he might well intend to be around long enough to groom yet another new deputy PM.