The answer lies in what governs the decision: the heart or the mind?

The heart being the site of conscience will always uphold one's principle and values, whereas the mind will always side the logical and the obvious. The latter means threading the lines of least resistance, whereas the former could mean going against the wave of popular expectation, though the two need not necessarily be mutually exclusive if an ideal candidate is at hand.

Such a candidate must meet the requirements of the balanced score card for the position as perceived by Pak Lah. The majority seems to agree that we have less than ideal candidates. The only way out therefore is for Pak Lah to opt for a second best solution, one that is really his own personal choice.

This could very much depend on what pedestal would our new prime minister in standing on . It is obvious that in the last few days he has chosen to stand firm on his principles and values. Therefore when there is a conflict between the two he would weight in favour of principles and values in which instance there could be surprises.

He would certainly choose a candidate that could enhance the value he chooses to offer to the nation. One who could play a supplementary and synergistic role. He would not want to ride a tiger as Dr Mahathir had tried.

Our country has massive physical capacity and structures. These need to be utilised meaningfully in order to harness its maximum value for the benefit of the people. We now need to add substance to forms.

As a pious person steeped in the teachings of Islam, he would certainly subscribe to the need for balance between material needs and spiritual values, between quantity and quality, in striving to attain the golden median.

If this is true, Pak Lah needs to call for an early election to obtain his own personal mandate from the people, to enable him to make his very own choice for his deputy and for sure it is going to be quite a surprise. From this vantage point his choice is obvious!