YOURSAY 'Wan Azizah will be an inspiration as to what a woman is capable of.'

Sodom Me Sodom You: Let PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail break the glass ceiling and prove to everyone that she is a capable leader. She has done well in all these years as an outstanding president of a political party, a faithful wife and a wonderful mother.

Wan Azizah will be a great inspiration to every Malaysian on what a woman is capable of. I wait for the glorious day when this fine woman, who should one day be an icon to all Malaysians, much like that tower of a woman, Siti Hasmah Ali, was a beacon of hope to all of us.

Who knows she may even be even the first woman prime minister of our beloved nation.

Kim Quek: First, under our system of constitutional monarchy, there is no room for the sultan to say no, when Pakatan Rakyat decides to have its new nominee to replace Selangor MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

Second, the question of whether a woman can head a government is moot, since it has been shown that women prime ministers have successfully ruled in some of the world’s most populous Muslim countries in recent times.

Bangladesh, where its 170 million people are almost completely Muslims, have been ruled by mostly women prime ministers since 1991 - Begum Khaleda Zia 1991-1996, 2001-2006, and Sheikh Hasina 2009 to present.

Similarly, Pakistan also had an illustrious prime minister in Benazir Bhutto who served two terms, 1988-90 and 1993-96.

Awakened: Historically, we do have great women leaders like Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, Hillary Clinton, Empress Wu. Currently we have Angela Merkel, a woman PM for Germany and she is doing a great job.

The key attribute of a leader is how he or she can build a great team. If Wan Azizah can unite the current exco, a lot can be done.

At least she would be a better listener than Abdul Khalid, in taking advice from the state's economic adviser.

Proarte: Women leaders not being the Muslim norm? Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh immediately spring to mind. The woman who led the 'Battle of the Camels' was none other than Ayesha, the young wife of Prophet Muhammad.

So if a Muslim woman can lead religious battles 1,400 years ago in primitive Arabia, there is really no issue for a Muslim woman to be a leader of men or to sit next to a sultan in the 21st century.

David: There are so many past and present women prime ministers and heads of state in the world, so is it so shocking that we may have a woman chief minister? The basis of Selangoreans' rejection of BN is to have a clean, transparent and efficient government in place.

If the current MB is underperforming or putting the state at risk with unsound decisions, then the citizens via their state representatives have the right to fire the MB. Constitutionally, the sultan has no powers to protect the MB's position.

Wandering Star: Let us not be male chauvinistic pigs. Look at those running the country, what sort of leadership qualities do they have? Their leader is perpetually on autopilot, and it's only matter of time we would most likely end in disaster.

Trust in a lady, you will have a safe landing.

CQ Muar: Women leaders are everywhere the world over. Why must tradition be an obstacle or barrier? Even in Malaysia we have witnessed roles traditionally held by men being taken over by women.

As a matter fact, how often has it been proven that women leaders fare better than their male counterparts? As such, Wan Azizah should not be discriminated based on her gender.

Casey: "I am totally against the idea that a Muslim woman should not have the same opportunities as a Muslim man to learn, to open up, to work, help shape the future. To close Islam down to a sexist approach is totally intolerable and ridiculous. It's not Islam," so said King Hussein of Jordan.

I, on the contrary, think that the feminine qualities of leadership, which include attention to environment, humanity, nurturing, affection, intuition and the qualities that make people feel safe and cared for, are perhaps the way forward in facing rising bigotries - racial, religious and sexist.

Gerard Lourdesamy: This is a non-issue. The laws of the constitution of the state of Selangor do not restrict the MB to a Malay Muslim male who must be born in the state.

It merely requires the MB to be a Malay Muslim (and even this requirement can be waived by the sultan) and he or she must command the confidence of the majority in the legislative assembly.

If Khalid refuses to resign then Pakatan Rakyat leaders can approach the sultan with letters of support from the their state assemblypersons stating that they have lost confidence in Khalid and request that the sultan appoint another person as MB who has their confidence.

Once this is established (and it need not be done on the floor of the assembly), the sultan can ask Khalid to resign or remove him if he refuses and appoint the new MB.

Khalid may seek a dissolution of the assembly but following the Perak precedent, the sultan will most likely refuse the request since Pakatan still has a two-thirds majority in the assembly with or without Khalid.

Maplesyrup: Khalid is where he is today because he was appointed by Pakatan. He should uphold his own dignity by accepting the sack if it comes to that.

Dissolving the assembly (as speculated by some) is just mischievous and will demolish his reputation forever.

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