A GENTLE, AND MAYBE NAIVE, REMINDER TO MY PRIME MINISTER TO BE EFFECTIVE

Umar Mukhtar

We need an effective Prime Minister. One who can handle nuisance with a non-draconian knock-out punch and not a lame denial shrug of the shoulder, for that nuisance not to be persistent and continuous. His hands are already full, what with the rising cost of living, a weak ringgit and the fall in our country’s earnings.

If he is to do his job effectively, his time should be wholly devoted to taking care of the people’s welfare and not indulging in running battles with his detractors. Why is he at their mercy, when there are adequate available legal protection against such pests?

All he has to do is issue a statement soonest to the following effect :

1. Yes, he has seen the said documents showed to him by The Wall Street Journal.

2. No, they do not support any conclusion that billions of dollars had been deposited to his personal accounts.

3. His lawyers have already sent a Letter of Demand to WSJ demanding retraction of its allegations and consequent apology. Failing which his lawyers will seek legal redress for defamation, in seven days.

4. His lawyers will also meanwhile seek an interim injunction of sorts for all parties not to repeat such allegations pending settlement of the suit.

What’s the problem? We do understand that the onus of proof is not his. An innocent party should not be subject to irresponsible acts that require his time to fend off. But then again, he does owe us unfettered leadership. If he cannot deal with it satisfactorily, even to the point of allowing us to doubt his credibility, then he cannot be an effective Prime Minister.

Sometimes a philandering father gets an unfair treatment from his wife. It is the children that also suffer from the wife’s attitude. The father should set the record straight, get the bull by the horns, and move on, instead of whining of being a victim of unfair allegations. His kids are suffering otherwise, no matter who is right. His job is to lead, when he can no longer lead because of the circumstances which he doesn’t know how to change, he is an effective person. Period.

Do the needful, sir, and we fair-minded people will rally behind you as we have been doing, for the sake of political stability. Once you clear the air, the irresponsible detractors, will be showed up. We will take care of them for you. They need us too. But you must act like a Prime Minister first. In the final analysis, you may have to go, not because you are wrong, but because you an ineffective leader.

First and foremost, we need a Prime Minister, irrespective of what is the truth about your quarrel. The people cannot go on carrying you on our shoulders as if you have no spine. It is not what we bargained for. Your detractors are known to us as people who are not that interested in the truth and fair-play. They will persist with their selfish aims no matter what. If you can’t handle them, shall we think of your ineffective replacement?

We have no private jets, our children’s weddings are frugal, our wives’ handbags are imitations made in Korea, her diamond rings have all been pawned, and we have to think a hundred times over what to pick up at the market. We are suffering here, you hear? So stop whining and teach those guys a lesson. Any reason that you can’t?