I refer to Malaysiakini report Change or be voted out, warns Najib.

After losing the important by-election in Kuala Terengganu, the incoming premier has said the obvious. Change or be voted out. But will his clarion call to his party’s members to change for the better have the desired result?

The party’s top leaders have been calling for change so many times ever since they lost big in the last general elections. But it is all rhetoric as their words does not match their deeds. Indeed, the voters have rejected them twice in two by-elections as many people see the present government as beyond redemption.

BN is suffering from a severe credibility problem among the public at large. The generation Y voters who make up the bulk of the new voters do not identify themselves with the ruling party anymore. When you have old and tired leaders who have been there for ages, how can they ‘connect’ with the younger people who are more savvy, critical and demanding?

Just look at those candidates who are running for high office in Umno’s coming polls. Most of them come from the old guard who still want to cling to their old positions although their political shelf life has expired.

Young people are prevented from joining the party as most of the old guard wants to maintain the status quo. This deprives the party of new blood which can connect with the younger voters who will make their presence felt in the next general elections.

Rafidah Aziz, Syed Hamid Albar, Muhammad Muhammad Taib and other old-timers who were there when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the premier should have retired gracefully earlier and let new blood take over their places. But they still want to run for office although most of them are in their 60s.

Wake up people, President Barack Obama has been inaugurated in the US as president and he is only 47 years old. In other democratic countries, younger leaders are being elected through the ballot box and most of them are only in their 40s. An infusion of new blood is necessary to have new ideas to take the country to new heights but our leaders are still from the old era with tainted hands and a dubious past.

MCA and Gerakan have read the sentiment on the ground correctly after their debacle in the last polls by electing new presidents but Samy Vellu of the MIC still wants to defend his seat while the ‘vintage’ chief minister of Sarawak still wants to lead his party in the next state polls. Is it any wonder why people don’t support the BN government anymore?

Even in parliament, most of the governments MPs are old-timers while the opposition has many young members who are very articulate and can present their arguments very well in the August house

Most Malaysians now comprise the younger generations whose thinking and values are not the same as their elders. Their hopes and aspirations are higher and they want to play their part in shaping our country to be like other modern and civilised nations where human rights are respected fully by the authorities and democratic practices are sacrosanct.

Najib will inherit a weak and corrupt government once he takes office from the present incumbent. Will he be able to rise to the occasion and be like Barack Obama to whom the Americans look to take them out of their economic malaise?

Don’t hope too much for the incoming premier comes from the old school where corrupt practice and abuse of power by the ruling elite are the norm. Under his leadership , expect Mahathir to be his ‘adviser ‘ and the dark old days of an ‘iron fist’ rule will be used to muzzle the opposition.

Najib does not have the charisma or the leadership skills which can inspire a nation like Barack Obama. With all the scandals under his belt, how can he lead our nation to new heights and prosperity in the coming years?

There are so many challenges facing our nation and yet we are stuck with third-rate leaders who still think they can cheat the rakyat with their old ways of doing business.

Our country is in uncharted waters lead by a tainted captain and a corrupt crew. Whether it can reach the port safely in this stormy whether is yet to be seen. Brace yourself for the coming storm that are going to hit us as the world economic meltdown comes in full effect.

Bad leadership is a prerequisite for a failed nation. Are we heading in that direction when the new team takes over in March 2009. Let us pray not. The country needs more than a ‘wow’ factor to get us out of our doldrums.