I refer to Malaysiakini report, Taib's son to be PBB Youth veep . One can only conclude that Sulaiman Taib, who had relinquish his key corporate posts, is eyeing a top political post in order to succeed his father, a long-standing chief minister in the hornbill state in due time.

He will follow the footsteps of other leaders' son - Najib Razak, Hishammuddin Onn or even Khairy Jamaluddin, all of whom are aiming for the No 1 post in the party and government.

Even in MCA, the deputy Youth chief is the son of the former party chief whose long tenure in politics is filled with controversies and scandals. We cannot have people who want to climb up the political ladder by resting on their fathers' laurel. It is not good for the nation's interest if people reach the top not due to their leadership skills but due to their blood relation.

It looks like while other lesser known leaders can only aim for one of the high posts both in the state and federal level, the 'chief executive post' is often reserved for the sons of former prime ministers or chief ministers.

Our forefathers such as Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak, Hussein Onn and others, have played an important part in achieving independence from our colonial master and had live a very frugal life without any stain of corruption. But the same cannot be said about our present leaders.

History is full of anecdotes of promising leaders who failed to make it to the top. Onn Jaffar did not make it because he was farsighted enough to open up Umno to all races in the country but was rejected by the party grassroots. He had to relinquish his post in Umno and thus did not make it to be the first prime minister of Malaysia. Instead, Tunku Abdul Rahman took over from him.

There should be a paradigm shift in our way of thinking in order for our country to progress. We should not assume that "the sons always rise" but let those who have tasted the 'baptism of fire' in politics to try make it to the top.