11/3/11 LET CHANGE OUR LEADERSHIP...

(I found her in Merapok, deep in the interior of Northern Sarawak. She was very shy. It took me hard time hiding in the bush to have a candid snap of her...and this shyness, doesn't it reflect her shyness of her present lifestatus. Should we not be responsible to open the world to her and her alike?)

Upon returning from my long absence during my study (1973-1984) in Peninsula Malaysia, and due to not having enough money to come home even during the long term or semester breaks, from June 1984 untill Oct., 1986 I decided not to work. I choose to stay in the Kampung to help my uncle who was the Ketua Kampung in providing some sort of development oriented leadership. During that period, I used to frequent the Simunjan District Office of which the DO were Abdullah Upang and later Wan Alwi Wan Hashim(now Datu) to work out something good for the Kampung. Working closely with these two officials I tried to get all sort of development projects for my Kampung and those nearby.

(2) During those period, my uncle who was at his late 70s had tried many times to relinquish his Ketua Kampung position. He really wanted the younger generation to take his place. But to no avail; he did not succeed until to his death. Then, for about two years, my Kampung have no Ketua Kampung until one day, I have to make a move to persuade the villagers to sit down and choose one among them. But, none was willing to sit in, until, I just make (forced) a decission to get my other uncle to stand in.

(3) Today, my uncle had passed away for almost two years, and a new Ketua Kampung have yet to be sellected and officially appointed.

(4) The above points, purposely I made as an introduction to this article to potray how the Villagers, being honest, realising the responsibilities and sacrifices of a leader, they don't have the appetide to rush for a leadership position or even chgange their leader as and when they 'wish'. Their understanding of the responsibilities and burden of a leader make them just wish to be loyal followers.

(5) Now that DUN of Sarawak had been officially dissolved. Earlier on, everybody seem to be eager to have a General Election. The talks of the town was then always about: when is the election? I have been bombarded with such question for long. Now I believe, it might be done by next weekend, and the pressing issue in hand seem no more about election, but, the prevailing leadership must be changed!

(6) Couple of months back I was reading the Harvard Business Review which focused on the need for a CEO Succession Plan of a corporation. Definitely, the Journal outlined all the reasons and justifications for such purposes. Accordingly, the Journal also outlined the reasons for the failure of such initiative either made from within (home grown) or from the outset (imported) of the Organization.

(7) Interestingly there are two global phenomena that could frustrate CEO Succesion Development Plan, especially when the Organization began to realise that the incumbent CEO is in a serious gear of grooming an incoming CEO: (i) the so called potential CEO candidate(s), seem to loose the patient for the incumbent CEO to step down, and (ii) jealousy and infighting sometimes come into play. The potential candidate(s) sometimes being assassinated unecessarily by those who 'believe' they are much better or being sideline. Thus, we could see, sometimes the Organization later split into grouping that doesn't bring any good.

(8) If one read the book: A doctor in the house, the memoirs of Tun Mahathir Mohamad, in his introduction, one could see how, the leadership succession plan of Tun Abdul Razak, and even Tun Husein Onn had been 'neutralized' by lots of the so called 'much capable' personalities.

(9) When Mahathir was the Prime Minister, he had made personalities such as Musa Hitam and Anwar Ibrahim as his future passing baton. But, what then happened was a clear manifestation of what the Harvard Business Review had said about making the leadership succession known in advance. Both Musa and Anwar either they were not patient or being assasinated or even kililing each others. This later made Mahathir to have no choice but to pass over his leadership to suppose to be an interim party since he had no real good one in hand. Everybody knows, this later had caused Malaysia to run (not walked) bakward instead of moving forward. All these, was because Mahathir was presured to hand over his leadership just because he had led the country longer than any other Prime Minister! Our justification to do so just because our leader had been there for too 'long'. I would say a very simplistic judgement (if tere is a judgement)!

(10) We should not be too short sighted or being forgetful about the effect of forcing a leader to step down or even step aside, despite if he/she is still having the virtue to do good if not great. Neighboring examples such as Ferdinand Marcos and Suharto should make us be aware of the possible consequences. A forced down fall of Sadam Husein is another great example.

(11) Now, Taib Mahmud being presured to step down as the Chief Minister. I believe, to entertain to such out cries, lately, he made his wish to do so, loud and clear, though no deadline had been fixed. I believe, Taib Mahmud as a veteran leader, he had seen the mistake of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. I believe he cares not to make the same mistake for the good of the State.

(12) Doesn't matter what is (are) Taib Mahmud reason(s) to continue to lead the State, but for sure he had managed the State well so far. And we must also not forget, once he had made known of his successive plan, and we had also seen how such announcement had caused split in PBB.

(13) My personal simple and little experienced had also taught me not to hope too much on the success of a leadership successive plan, what is more important, is to build a team that can work well and know their responsibilities. Within the team, surely will emerge a leader. There is no leader without the followers. I believe, a person who can build a team, and work as a team, is a true leader. In the art of Ghengis Khan, leadership is about organizing (by what ever means) others to follow and or realise our vision. A leader can't just live with vision, but a leader is the one strive to achieve his vision! A vision without a realization is a mere dream, and dreams sometimes is a mere nightmare!

(14) I could see, and Taib Mahmud had said so many times, how he just want those who are eager to lead to work as a team; just firstly work as a team to deliver the good and be well tested; not a team to kill each others, just that we never bother to think deep of what he said or suggested that made us now seem loosing our patient to see him stepping down.

(15) We, especially as the Malays and Muslimm seem to forget, how Muhammad SAW had developed leaders among his deciples, just by making them working as a team. Had he ever annouce who to succeed him in far advance? Only when he knew that he can't being the imam for a prayer because he knew of the ending of his life, then only he requested Abu Bakar to succeed him, by symbolically asking Abu Bakar to lead the prayer! Same goes with Abu Bakar and Othtman. Surely Allah made it different when come to Umar and Ali, both were killed, and does that mean Allah really don't like them or because there are hidden agendas that Allah want us to think.

(16) My worry of our 'want' (especially the Malays) for being too eager to listen to others, yet forgeting our true interest and worst without having thorough looking into our real leadership needs, we simply dance to others music. I believe we have done enough mistakes before and after the Independent, and now we still want to 'happily dance to others music'. I hope we don't and being enough not to care deep of our future. Sometimes, it might be Allah trick to test us with lots of lies, prejudice, rumours, etc to see if we are thinking, ie using our brain optimally! I hope we care to think, analyse and rationalise to the deepest and details before we move our fingures to appoint who to be our leader(s). Don't make others to make us choose our leader(s). Let our leader(s) be purely choosen by us, and let us be fully responsible to our own deed.

Matang Jaya, Kuching
21 March, 2011