Political ‘dinosaurs’ holding back rise of new leaders, says analyst

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will struggle to produce extraordinary leaders because heads of political parties are clinging to power and refusing to make way for the next generation, says a political analyst.

“It is almost like they do not want to place their faith in these new, young and upcoming leaders,” said Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya.

He described the top leaders as “political dinosaurs”, and gave the examples of Dr Mahathir Mohamad playing an active role in politics at the age of 96, and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, still serving as an MP in his 80s. Many leaders of other parties, including Lim Kit Siang, had also been around for decades.

He said the problem was not because Malaysia could not produce extraordinary leaders, but the rise of younger leaders with fresh ideas was stymied by those from “bygone eras”.

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