MARCH 5 — A subliminal message is normally defined as anything that sends you a message without your knowledge of it, usually picked up on by your subconscious mind.

It would not be too far-fetched to say or suggest that Malaysia is in a dire need of a new ‘hero’ or a leader. Let us forget about the political parties for a moment. They are all in a mess right now.  Let’s just focus on a leader.

Whilst it is true that the leader of Malaysia is essentially based on its political landscape which in turn is based on the political party or components or coalition that has majority seats in Parliament, we seem to have overlooked the need for a strong and trustworthy leader of the country. A party president is not necessarily a strong leader of a nation.

There is this one question that need to be answered now: If Pakatan Rakyat were to secure enough Parliamentary seats come 2018 to form a federal government, who then from Pakatan Rakyat would be the prime pinister?

In my mind, if that answer is not clear now in 2015, how am I to vote in 2018? As voters and as lay people, and most of us are, we are not that deeply rooted to politics or aware of the machinery in politics.

Those days, when I was young, I remember there was a strong leader called Dato Seri’ Dr Mahathir Mohamad (now Tun Mahathir). He sort of kept everything in check. It was a no-brainer who was going to be the prime minister when he was around because the elections and the campaign surrounding it were essentially revolving around Dato Seri’ Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Yes, there was his party called UMNO Baru and his fellow component parties, called MCA, MIC, Gerakan  etc,  but the lay people voted or wanted to vote for Dato Seri’ Dr Mahathir Mohamad. If they couldn’t vote for him, they wanted to vote for some party that was  linked to him, hence the importance of the ‘dacing’ sign.

It has always been that way.

Today in 2015, Malaysia has gone one full circle and is now back in the hunt for that new strong leader. It is for that reason that Pakatan Rakyat should, beginning from, like immediately, decide who would be the Prime Minister from their coalition and campaign around the country introducing that ‘new’ prime minister so to speak.

Should they decide and start campaigning immediately for the next 3 years or so, depending, a subliminal message would be sent out to Malaysians that there is a new leader vying for the position of Prime Minister and people would inevitably be curious. That itself is a good start.

The approach of ‘let’s win then decide who would be prime minister’ by Pakatan Rakyat, in my humble opinion, does not seem to capture that confidence of the lay people. Yes, it is true that there is a growing number of people who are more exposed to written material nowadays that have endorsed and understood Pakatan Rakyat’s stand and policies. But what about the ordinary folks in the rural areas? They too are looking for a leader that stands for all that is good and just. Party policies, in my opinion, would not mean anything to them. Why? It’s simply because they would just follow what the leader says.

It is for this very crucial reason that many, many countries around the world vote for their leader. Yes, they do belong to a political party but unconsciously people are voting for their leader, or who they want to be their leader. It is a basic human characteristic.

It is sad that when there is an alternative strong leader that may have the chance of leading the country, somehow he is stopped in his tracks. Malaysia may be plagued with electoral boundary issues, electoral roll issues, postal votes issues, however, maybe, just maybe, if  an identifiable candidate from Pakatan Rakyat  can stand up today with the backing of his or her coalition,  and say without any hesitation “I am campaigning to be the prime minister in 2018”, that,  in my humble opinion, would create waves. Yes it is true that we do not literally vote for a prime minister at the end of the day, but when there is that strong leader present and real, we would subconsciously vote for that person, or, in our case, any political party linked to him or her.

* This article was written taking into consideration, and being fully aware of, the  contents of the Sedition Act 1948 (which was promised to  be repealed, but  strangely has not been) and does not contain any, or meant to have any,  seditious tendencies whatsoever in any way. It is purely informative in nature.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.