YOURSAY 'Great leaders have to be consistent in their beliefs and match them with actions. Do we see this in Zaid Ibrahim?'

Can Pakatan trust Zaid enough to re-embrace him?

your say Sepang: Great leaders take a long time to prove themselves - look at Mohandas Gandhi, Sun Yat Sen, Charles de Gaulle, etc.

They have to be consistent in their beliefs and match them with actions, and they won't flip flop according to the situation that is constantly changing. Instead their solid principles will change the situation. Do we see this in former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim?

And if PKR takes Zaid back, what will be the implication on other faithful party members? What will be the message - that it is okay to betray the party once, and we will forget about it so long as you are a famous lawyer?

I don't mean to say Zaid is an evil person (I'm not sure as only time will tell), but if he is serious in this, he should make a public confession about his past actions and re-apply for party membership with no strings attached, and certainly not to demand that he be made a candidate again.

Pemerhati: If Zaid and others feel that they made a mistake and like to go back to Pakatan Rakyat, they should be allowed into the party and made to prove their loyalty and commitment.

That means they have to work hard to regain the trust of the party by contributing as much as they can and speaking up on issues of public interest such as the current unfair vilification of Nurul Izzah Anwar by Umno's lackeys, such as Utusan Malaysia and former PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa.

Compared to Zaid, the charismatic PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang is likely to give Najib a much better fight in Pekan. This is simply because since Zaid lost to a nobody like P Kamalanathan in Hulu Selangor, what chance does he have against the prime minister?

Enuf: Forget it, Zaid. As a Pakatan supporter, I won't even vote for you if you were to contest in my constituency. Rather, gain back our trust by helping Pakatan in their election coffers if you really want to see Umno go down.

Orang Jauh: Zaid, to be sure I salute you. I used to admire you - until you had that fallout with PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim.

And no, it is not the fallout per se, but your expressed views when the ‘Datuk Trio' decided to produce a low-class porno movie, and you agreed (or at least insinuated) that it was Anwar in the video.

A trained lawyer falling for that script is not on for me. You have sold your soul.

Fair Play: Zaid is a realist and he knows Umno days are numbered. The issue of whether Pakatan should trust him should be replaced with whether he is a winnable candidate and able to contribute towards a new beginning. I say Pakatan should give the man a break.

Opah: Zaid seems to have forgotten that in 2010, PKR gave him a chance to become MP of Hulu Selangor.

He lost to Kamalanathan, Umno's anointed hand-kissing candidate. Can he look at himself in the mirror and honestly say "I gave my best in Hulu Selangor"?

We have not heard any explanation from Zaid himself for his defeat in the by-election. Instead he talks about PKR's internal elections and why he left.

Perhaps he left when he found out that the rest of PKR does not rate him as highly as he rates himself.

Jean Pierre: If he is surprised about being perceived as having 'trust issues' with voters, then why not stand as an independent? Why the need to leverage on Pakatan's popularity? Zaid is an opportunist. PKR knows better.

TimeForChange: I believe Zaid is one of the very few principled politicians around. He has been consistent in his stand. Unfortunately, most Malaysians are the "either you are with us or against us" types.

He left Umno and PKR because of his principles. And I believe it would be a mistake for him to join any political party because he will never be able to toe the party line.

It will be a long time before the general voting Malaysians will be able to accept a person of his convictions and principles.

Timothy: Is Zaid corrupted? A Ketuanan racist? A religious extremist? A proven Trojan horse? An unseasoned, unwitting politician, more lawyer than politician? Has he misused his ministerial power as a law minister?

Are we looking for a clean and perfect man/politician? If that's the case, none of us can vote because there is no such person to vote for.

Dood: Many Pakatan supporters now despise Zaid not because he is not with Pakatan, but because Zaid has shown several times to say one thing, yet do another or mean something else.

And this isn't even touching on allegations that he is more interested in power and is arrogant. If Zaid really means well, he has a long way to regain the people's trust, and I don't think he should do it by insisting to be a candidate in the coming election.

Anonymous #38950338: Until today, no action he has done has undone my perception of Zaid as a Trojan horse who cannot engage the common man in the street. Let him stay in Kita and do what he wants. Have nothing to do with him and his cohorts.

Ksn: Zaid deserves a chance with one of the Pakatan partners. He left the government on a matter of principle; he left PKR because the party's elections were less than transparent, conducted to put certain individuals in place.

But that is known to all those who care for fairness and openness. He will be good for Pakatan. I believe he should get, and deserves, that opportunity.

Dont Just Talk: That was a very good interview with Zaid to get his side of story. The question on whether he is still seeking office is best answered when he resigned from his cabinet post on point of principle and was subsequently expelled from Umno.

Voters label someone as a ‘katak' (frog) politician when he or she is elected on a particular party platform, but jumps to another party and cheats the voters by not resigning from the post as an MP or state assemblyman.

Normally millions of ringgits change hands in the process. But Zaid is of a different species, he did not make monetary gain and it takes true guts and sincerity to offer himself as a candidate to take on Najib in Pekan.

Zaid's weakness is that he lacks patience, but on the whole, he is an honest and principled human being.

Hermit: The rundown of DSAI (Anwar) on the eve of the Sodomy II verdict by Zaid and echoed by Hasan Ali reflects their true inner selves. If Hasan has been dumped into the dustbin by PAS, I don't see the need for PKR to salvage Zaid.

Zaid had been in the fast lane whilst in Umno, which makes him wealthy like many others in Umno. He was suspended by Umno for alleged vote buying. He subsequently was picked by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to be the law minister.

Knowing Zaid's temperamental, he could not be a team player and knowing that his wealth could hardly buy the support he needs to best those like Muhyiddin Yassin and Hishammuddin Hussein, what else is left except to quit from Abdullah's cabinet.

Probably having realised all his silly and grave mistakes, Zaid is now trying to redeem himself.

Wanderer: Why must we crucified a man for life just because of his naivety and a bad mistake. Have we all not heard we mellow as we grow older? Those who still want to nail Zaid to the cross, tell me when in your life you have not sinned?

Let us be a realist and see the political future with an opened mind. I am sure he is fully aware that another similar mistake, he can kiss goodbye to his political life forever.

Changeagent: Once bitten, twice shy. Whatever his principles, talents, merits and accomplishments, the fact remains is that Zaid Ibrahim is not a team player.

He seems like someone who is more interested in pushing his own personal agenda, rather than that of the Pakatan coalition. This factor alone should rule him of any further part to play for Pakatan in the next general election.

He is selfish, indiscipline and unpredictable, and must not be embraced back into the fold in the immediate future. The reality is that Pakatan are not short of credible candidates to field in Pekan.

Ablastine: Zaid is a smart chap but he made a few bad calls. One mistake must be his haste to leave Pakatan, making many powerful enemies on both sides. He lacked the depth and his inability to strategise and evaluate situations is pulling him back.

Obviously he cannot be a Trojan horse or short on intellect. But we all learn, gain experience and become better. We have to give Zaid a second chance because he did in fact resign from the cabinet on matter of principle.

Had be been as shallow as the rest of Umno he would have joined them to rob the country. He is an asset. Pakatan should give him one more chance and benefit of the doubt, allowing him to play a more active but closely monitored role in its politics.

Ferdtan: For Pakatan to trust to re-embrace the return of Zaid Ibrahim in active service in the opposition camp, two things are needed to be assessed first: Zaid as a personality and what further contribution and role can he play with him on board.

It is not the matter of his leaving the opposition camp but what came after that is hard for people to shallow.

He was seen to be vindictive after the fallout with Anwar. Gutter politics is not beyond him as he un-lawyerly suggested Anwar to submit his DNA in the sodomy trial. It was a reprehensible statement coming from a trained lawyer. Also in the sex video issue, he took potshots at his former boss.

If Zaid were to return to active service what can he contribute? He has no strong grassroots support base, either in Umno or in PKR. He was not chosen by Umno as a candidate in the 2008 GE, and his lost in the Hulu Selangor by-election in 2010 showed that he was not a force to be reckoned with.

Probably he is overrated. However, there are no permanent enemies in politics and if he is sincere to come on board with the opposition on clean slate, he should expressed clearly that he is not seeking any position.

His glaringly overhasty ambition is the unmaking of Zaid in the past.

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