If it feels like GE13 was a long time coming, that's because it was. For more than a year politicians of all hues, commentators and international observers were urging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to push the button, but he held out. The reason for the delay well into 2013 - we later found out - was so the people had more time to see that transformation is working. Fair enough. By the time the May 5th date was set, we all knew our economic success during 2012 was no fluke, instead key milestones of the GTP and ETP. But crafty Najib doubtless also knew something else both his critics and impatient BN supporters didn't. He knew Pakatan Rakyat, rather than getting stronger and better organised, would actually fracture over the extended time frame. The small cracks between the parties that were dismissed last year by DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng as differences of opinion that occur in "any coalition" would eventually break wide open. And that's why we find ourselves in such a strange position on the eve of GE13, with observers declaring Pakatan Rakyat dead and buried before it has even faced the people; with the pre-selection disputes of PKR-DAP-PAS betraying an "every man for himself" mentality; with PAS members sprinkling Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's name into the conversation every time the Prime Minister's job is mentioned; and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reduced to conducting "poor me" interviews to the foreign media, paving the way for his defeat in an election he pretends won't be free and fair. If Najib really foresaw all this, if he really delayed calling GE13 because he knew Pakatan was set to self-destruct, then he has a quality common to real star performers on the biggest stage: patience and timing. At no point did he panic or succumb to pressure from outside or within BN. And the timing of GE13 has left Pakatan Rakyat voters in an unenviable position. Given that the success of this nation is now utterly irrefutable, they are effectively being dared to vote for the great unknown and put it all at risk. To do that now, at this late stage, would be reckless. Najib, more than anyone, won't be taking a GE13 victory for granted, and right up until May 5th he will be urging his candidates to fight for every vote. But his language is littered with clues as to his confidence. He isn't just asking for a mandate – to fall across the line - he long ago changed his message, calling for a decisive mandate that gives the go ahead for the next stage of transformation and that includes reforming his own party. If he gets this mandate and the result is even deeper reforms that benefit Malaysia, then his patient long game will be vindicated. The Choice, 23 April 2013 | 
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