COMMENT | My concern on the power transition from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed to PKR President Anwar Ibrahim is not so much about the setting of a precise date.

A date can be fixed at a later point in time as long as the spirit of a smooth transition is firmly embedded in the Pakatan Harapan, that is in accordance with the succession agreement prior to the last general election.

What is not acceptable is the fact that those who accepted the agreement of orderly transfer of power are not in favour that Mahathir will vacate his position this term but want him to continue for the whole term.

These are the individuals who had earlier accepted Anwar as the next prime minister to succeed Mahathir.

Just because there are some differences within PKR leading to the formation of camps, those in the opposite camp are taking the stand that Mahathir must continue serving as prime minister and that the succession issue is not that paramount.

This hypocrisy suggests that Harapan might not be in good moral and ethical position in the eyes of its supporters.

Why one agreement before the general election and another one now?

The Harapan presidential council must speak with one voice after sorting out the differences internally and not just allowing one or two persons to dictate terms.

I am afraid that the succession issue might have been resolved temporarily, but since it was not a win-win solution, it would be difficult to control and manage the fallout that is going to emerge from the perception that winners cannot take everything.

This is politics, where the stakes are high, especially when promises are not kept and consensus and fair play are lost to political expediency.

PAS might not go for the motion of confidence in Mahathir but let us all rest assured that this hypocritical party might try another stunt to put spanners in the works of the succession matter.

Those in Harapan who are not in favour of Anwar succeeding Mahathir might take delight that they have an ally outside, waiting in the ranks of others for the spoils rendering the entire transition matter null and void.

Can we blame Anwar’s supporters if they decide to take matters into their own hands to say that the whole succession matter is a farce?

The delay is basically to energise those who are bent on denying Anwar the chance, for the third time, of becoming the prime minister.

For the man who spearheaded the Reformasi movement in and out of his incarceration in prison, the prospect of denying him the opportunity that was based on consensus and predicated on the need to bring down the BN, is something totally unacceptable.

Anwar needs no red carpet invitation to be the next prime minister. Just stick to the rules of the game without shifting the goalposts from time to time.

The succession battle can be won, but not the war in improving the lives of millions of Malaysia.

P RAMASAMY is Perai assemblyperson, deputy chief minister (II) of Penang.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.