HONESTY and trustworthiness are the criteria that Malaysians want from their new leaders. When they voted for change on May 9, a new Malaysia was born and hope pervaded throughout. The message was clear, the people wanted leaders whom they could trust.
The overall results of the election, however, did not mean that the representatives voted in were credible and trustworthy. Voters are like beggars who can’t be choosers — they have to vote leaders who seem to be less corrupted than others.
Choosing credible leaders has become a challenging task for Malaysians. In the early days it was easier, leaders who stepped forward to lead the people knew what they were supposed to do — they were not looking for rewards, but only wanted to serve the people and they would make sacrifices just to do so.
Unfortunately, when the leadership role began to be seen as a position of power and to gain wealth, a new breed of false leaders emerged.
Monetary gains from government contracts and projects as well as opportunities to sit on the board of government-linked companies (GLCs) became the goal for such leaders.
They did not seek to change things to benefit the people and country, but they did so for material gains.
At a recent general assembly of one of the coalition parties of the government, an alarming message came out.
One of the party’s top leaders proposed the patronage culture to win the elections.
Leaders at divisional levels, he said, were entitled to be rewarded appropriately because of their hard work for the party to win the election.
There is nothing new about this proposal since the practice of awarding government contracts and projects to politicians for their role in the party is a practice of the previous regime, and in fact one of the main factors that brought it down.
The practice will not help the country develop better leaders. It will keep feeding them to become “false” leaders.
Supporting false leaders is like feeding monkeys in public parks or residential areas.
The more you feed them, the more destruction they will cause.
People and leaders should be reminded that false leaders are their collaborative creation.
When people continue to give support to greedy leaders, they will create false leaders, who will only take the leadership position to gain more power and wealth. They are burdens on the country.
New Malaysia should invest more in grooming and developing credible and genuine leaders. The process involves cooperation from all parties.
The current leadership should look for ways to improve the reward system. Rather than misuse the government position to reward leaders, they should let the internal party system groom leaders from within.
Young potential leaders should learn to be better leaders. Rather than look at the position and rewards to define their leadership role, they should be taught that people will value their role as a leader more when they are able to sacrifice and serve the people unconditionally.
The journey to become good leaders is not easy. It is a long process that involves problem-based and participative learning. Young leaders should also participate actively and be able to learn through problems that constantly emerge within a community.
Active participation will teach them to understand the voters better, as well as develop better leadership skills and qualities. The more active their participation with the people, the more they will understand that honesty is the best leadership policy.
DR HUSSAIN OTHMAN
Retired Associate Professor; adviser, Malaysian Association of Problem-based Learning , Kuala Lumpur