In a blog post, Zaid urged Mahathir to take advantage of the people’s “euphoria” at PH’s historic win over Barisan Nasional in the May 9 polls.
“A national leader is usually given 100 days to articulate and implement some of his ‘big objectives’, but Mahathir does not have that luxury.
“Because he is so popular and the feel-good factor is so pervasive, he needs to start doing the right thing now rather than later.”
The first thing Mahathir needed to do, Zaid said, was to appoint advisers such as Hassan Marican, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Daim Zainuddin, Rafidah Aziz and Mohamed Nazir Razak.
Acknowledging that such a line-up might prove unpopular with some, the DAP member nevertheless warned that Mahathir would need these people to provide confidence that serious planning was underway.
“The pool of talent that he must reach out to has to go beyond the conventional party alliances,” he added.
Zaid also called on Mahathir to release Anwar from jail on Monday as opposed to next month, saying this would earn the PH chairman massive public support.
“This is the sort of thing he can do easily that will attract a lot of mileage. Anwar is a unifying force that Mahathir can use for the benefit of his administration,” he said.
He also emphasised the importance of institutional reforms, urging Mahathir to get rid of “some of the key hatchet men in the previous administration” and appoint fresh and credible leaders to replace them.
“Again, this will give him and the new appointees time to implement a proper plan that people expect from him.
“Tun knows better than anyone else that it’s always easy to talk of changing and reforming the system, but it requires technocrats with belief, grit and passion to be serious reformists.”
Although PH coalition partners DAP, PKR, Amanah and Warisan would likely want “juicy appointments” in the new government, Zaid added, Mahathir must balance this with the need to seek the services of a wider pool of capable leaders.
“He is not just a leader of PH but also sees himself as the leader of our national reconciliation team.
“He needs to focus on fixing the many national problems we have, and empowering those from among the poorer communities in the country,” he said.