Although it is not 100 percent accurate, the public opinion poll conducted by Harakah on who would be the future premier is interesting. It shows that not all Malaysians, especially the Malays/Muslims share Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's preference and selection of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the future prime minister.

I do not understand why there is a lack of discussion on this crucial issue not only in the mainstream media, but also in malaysiakini which claims to be independent.

For sure, the days of old men like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, one of the choices listed in the poll, are over. Not only is his knowledge of economics outdated or antiquated, younger Malaysians, especially Malays/Muslims have known better, more qualified and more capable leaders than the Kelantan prince. Ku Li and his supporters should therefore give up all hope of coming back into the apex of power.

Another candidate, former Selangor menteri besar Muhammad Muhammad Taib is still remembered for his messy affairs with a princess of Selangor, as well as the huge amount of cash he was caught with in Brisbane airport. Most Malaysians are still wary of him because of these two incidents. The former and incumbent Johor menteris besar are nobody in national politics. Their talents are not recognised yet by people outside their immediate party circles, like the opposition, non-Malay Malaysians and the international communities.

As for Abdullah, while Mahathir prefers him to be a stop-gap successor, he lacks political appeal, organisational and social bases, as well as intellectual power. He survives only as long as there is no other better alternative. Many Chinese Malaysian businessmen also have no confidence in him in the longer term because he lacks economic and financial knowledge.

By a process of elimination, there is only one alternative left. It is undoubtedly defence minister, Najib Abdul Razak. However, he is also considered by many Malays/Muslims too be too Westernised at the expense of his Islamic credential, and by some non-Malay Malaysians to be a racist. Just before Operasi Lalang in 1987, he had uttered racist remarks against the non-Malay Malaysians.

Maybe Umno and Malaysians should consider by-passing all the old and middle-aged men and look at younger leaders like Hishammuddin Hussein as the immediate successor to Mahathir. Younger leaders like Hishammuddin have fewer baggage. They are also well known in the country as well as internationally.

In any case, it is only right for independent newspapers like malaysiakini to conduct public discourses from all perspectives on this important issue that affects the future of all Malaysians.