YOURSAY | 'Anwaristas also claim there is no one better to lead Malaysia in future, which is rubbish.'

Don't mix business and politics, Anwar Ibrahim!

Fairplayer: I agree with columnist Mariam Mokhtar. PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim's defence and praise for AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes is most unpalatable, as was Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's. As the Port Dickson by-election campaign wears on, I can see more and more of Anwar’s manipulative side.

Anwar’s manipulative nature is seen in the engineering of the by-election. No other politician has enjoyed his kind of entitlement, none. Shame on him, his wife and daughter, and Rafizi Ramli. I hope Port Dickson voters see the same dangerous traits in him.

Hmmmmmmmm: I agree that Anwar is not a good judge of character. As a prime minister-in-waiting, he should be surrounding himself with people of strong principles and character. Surely there are enough of these people around without him having to mingle with the likes of Fernandes? Don't get me wrong, I really want him to be our next prime minister, but he really needs to buck up.

KiloLima: You don't need a businessperson to advise you how to run the country's economy. You just let the market take its own course, and all you need to do is create an environment to enable it. To bring in a big business name is doing exactly what the last regime did. What's the difference? That's to say the prime minister-in-waiting has no talent.

Anonymous_1419577444: You are very brave, Mariam, and very right too. What we have seen of Anwar and PKR's conduct continue to confirm that he is not fit to be a prime minister. Today's Anwar is not the same as the leader of Reformasi 15 to 20 years ago.

Today's Anwar shows he can bend like a lalang any second to suit his own personal agenda, not Malaysia's, not the rakyat's. His supporters continue to say Anwar assuming the post of prime minister is his ‘right’, as if this is a coronation. They also claim there is no one better to lead Malaysia in future, which is bull.

We have a list of Malay political and civil society leaders who are much, much better than Anwar as prime minister. For a start, they have better values, morals and principles – people like Husam Musa, Mohamed Azmin Ali, Muhyiddin Yassin, Mohamad Sabu, Mohd Shafie Apdal, Syed Saddiq, even Khairy Jamaluddin and Siti Kassim.

And if you throw in non-Malays – R Sivarasa, Lim Guan Eng, Gobind Singh, Ramkarpal Singh, Tian Chua, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Baru Bian, Maria Chin Abdullah, Tony Pua, Anthony Loke, Liew Chin Tong, even Gan Ping Sieu and Dr Chua Soi Lek.

The Wakandan: I agree with Mariam here. I don’t have anything big against Anwar, but when Pakatan Harapan won the 14th general election, expectations were high. It really does not matter who will succeed Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. It can be Anwar, Azmin, Rafizi or even Syed Saddiq.

The personality is not that important, but the principles are. What matters is credibility, which has become a very big word now and seems to be rather elusive. Politicians find it difficult to keep up with this standard and expectation.

It is easy to employ sweet talk and promises, but when it comes to action, the results can be very lacking. People need to understand this, especially as to why Anwar is not spared the criticisms. People need to remember the reasons for the rejection of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, Umno and BN.

The last thing we would want is to be back to the square one. And that could happen and may begin with some little, little things. And when they are done, the original objectives could be very well forgotten. Jangan mudah lupa (don't easily forget) the quintessence, which is still relevant.

Abasir: Mixing business and politics is what Anwar did when he last held power as deputy prime minister, and it is what he will do if he gets back to power (remember Realmild? Radicare? MRCB?). What is being reported now about his cavorting with the likes of Fernandes (despite his bad back and shoulder) should alert everyone that the bad old days of Umno are just waiting to return.

But this is Malaysia, populated in the main by the congenitally mudah lupa - which means that no amount of warnings by concerned observers like Mariam will avert the disaster that is to happen. It is, as they say, que sera sera.

Patathewoonie: Mariam, do more for nation-building, don't criticise for the sake of criticising. If Anwar can forgive Mahathir for jailing him, why he can't forgive Fernandes? The rakyat, including myself, are reluctant to heed Anwar's call to forgive the AirAsia boss, but for the sake of nation-building – and Fernandes has admitted his mistakes – I believe the rakyat would not mind to give him a second chance.

For the sake of nation-building, please write more for unity, don't spread a message of discord. What everyone is asking, not to mix this and that, is pure naivety. The world is not so simple as you think, everything overlaps. No investor would invest in a politically unstable country. Hence, it is our job to be a watchdog - watching over the new government and ensure it does not repeat BN's mistakes.

But we are in dire need of investments and trade. So tell me, how are politicians not to mix with business?

Andysee: This is far from the former case of “you help me, I help you”. Is Mariam saying that politicians cannot work with businesspeople to develop the country? That makes no sense!

Nation-building involves collaboration of different parties everywhere, politicians can’t go it alone. In fact, Anwar is right to get advice from a businessperson when it relates to doing business.

FellowMalaysian: Mariam is absolutely right in saying Fernandes is hopeless in judging characters. The problem with him is that he genuflects to the person in power. It is hard to imagine, and even harder to comprehend, how a successful world-renowned businessperson of his stature has failed (repeatedly) to pick the right horse.

Do you see this happening to tycoons Vincent Tan or Lee Kim Yew? Fernandes is subjugated by character flaws of kiasu-ness and kiasi-ness, and these weaknesses will not bode well with his future undertakings.

AnonyMas: What is most disturbing is how entitled Anwar, his family and his PKR members are behaving while DAP, Amanah and Bersatu seem to be carrying on with a lot more professionalism. Sad, since PKR was one of the early champions of democracy, free speech and all the ‘good’ things we voted for.

I sincerely hope Mahathir and the present cabinet will limit the term of the prime minister before Anwar comes on board.

Falcon: Only the foolhardy and the closet Anwaristas fail to see the parallels. Could the hope and dream be over, and the nightmare awaits? Anwar's recent subtle warning to both Bersih and the Election Commission are classic symptoms.

Starmandala: It appears that the intense polarisation sweeping across the planet is taking shape as the great divide between Anwarphobes and Anwaristas, just as in America, where the gulf has become almost insurmountable between Trump-thumpers and those who can see through the shrill media spin.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.