COMMENT With the degree to which patterns repeat themselves in Malaysian politics, perhaps it is time to adopt a slightly different approach to writing articles. I would feel silly if I just kept repeating the same things over and over again.
A new method I would like to try involves writing one article to elaborate on one hypothesis, and then use future articles to explore how unfolding affairs support or detract from this hypothesis, using the original article as a reference.
Here is today’s hypothesis: One of the most defining features in Malaysian politics across the board since the 13th general election is its absence of any direction, caused primarily by power vacuums.
‘Across the board’ indicates that this applies to Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Rakyat and government institutions.
Having direction means that an entity is progressing cohesively towards some clearly defined goal.
Nowadays, the only vague goal for most movers and shakers in Malaysia seems to be either stay in power, get power, or get more power.
Nothing else seems clearly defined, and no one on either side of the political divide is successfully championing a clear vision for his or her organisation or the country.
Instead, politicians seem to invest a major part of their time and energy fighting one another, while the rest of us are largely left to fend for ourselves, adrift on the open sea.
General silent, colonels run rampant
In lieu of firm leadership, we see our landscape defined first and foremost by power vacuums.
When it becomes clear that the nominal general is weak, quiet, indecisive, otherwise occupied, or all of the above, the colonels and majors will sit around for a while, their weapons idle, waiting for something to happen.
Like Tolkien’s ‘One True Ring’, however, weapons and soldiers find a way of using themselves. After too much time where nothing of sufficient significance happens, the situation slowly deteriorates to a free for all, with everyone starting to look out for number one - usually at the expense of whoever appears to be number two or three.
Often times, camps form, each trying to outdo one another. Usually, by the time the generals realise their mistakes, it is too late, and the situation has got out of control.
I am not sufficiently well-versed in Umno politics to know all the details, but I get the impression that behind the scene, all sorts of knives are out for for Najib Abdul Razak.
On the other side, each Pakatan party appears to have gone its own way, perhaps losing faith in Anwar Ibrahim, a man who has clearly lost a great deal of clout in his own party (look no further for proof than the PKR electoral mess).
Meanwhile, individuals who are supposed to be public servants have taken it upon themselves to be public masters instead, apparently accountable to no elected official. The most prime examples of late are the inspector-general of police and the Majilis Agama Islam Selangor (Mais).
Game of Thrones fans will have no trouble recognising the scenario wherein when the king dies and the centre becomes weak. Then, every lord in the realm starts to think he can start acting like a king - untouchable in his own domain.
The antithesis of Mahathir
I aim to elaborate on the examples above and more in my next article, but in coming back to examining the theory of what is happening, perhaps the most efficient illumination is a comparison with Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s era.
Mahathir was the quintessential strongman politician. His philosophy was basically ‘my way or the highway’. (Although in many cases, his way was the highway. The more and the more expensive, the merrier.)
The way to establish this hard-nosed reputation is, of course, to be brutal with your enemies. Mahathir’s political career is strewn with people he destroyed, crushing them left and right to serve as an example to others who might dare entertain notions of defying his will.
This he did successfully, eventually to the point where everyone probably knew that to openly challenge Mahathir was political suicide. Everyone knew who the boss was, and everyone knew that when he said jump, the only question they needed to ask was “How high?” Thus, everyone was kept in line.
Najib’s style is the opposite. Where Mahathir was a visionary who passionately believed in the things he wanted to build, Najib seems interested primarily in building his bank account, and little else.
A man driven by mediocre greed will never inspire confidence or achieve as much as a man driven by genuine passion. Under Najib, no one is kept in line any longer. When colonels and majors start smelling weakness, then there is open defiance - the first sign of impending collapse.
New solutions
One can easily argue that Mahathir was an effective leader. I cannot emphasise enough that this does not mean that I believe he was a good leader. I could use as another example of an effective, but not necessarily good, leader - namely, a German individual from the mid 20th century - but urban legend has it that that would make me instantly lose the argument.
Although I’m sure some will consider this position naive, I do not for a second believe that one must be as brutal, merciless or have as blatant a disregard for human rights as Mahathir was in order to be an effective leader.
I am saying that one must be a passionate visionary in order to lead effectively. Severely misplaced though Mahathir’s vision was, his unbending resolve kept everyone moving in the same (mostly wrong) direction.
The point of all this comparison is to argue that the best way to understand what is happening around us in Malaysia in the here and now is within the context of a power vacuum and failure of leadership.
Tomorrow, and whenever more relevant events unfold, I will continue to offer more empirical analysis in the hope of correctly identifying the root cause of our political problems, that we might be in a better position to solve them.
While much of this analysis - being descriptive in nature - will focus on professional politicians, this in no way detracts from my core (prescriptive) belief that the solution to our problems will ultimately lie not in our politicians, but in ordinary Malaysians like you and me.
Identifying exactly how best we might play the roles we need to may take a little more time, but I continue to believe in the necessity of that endeavour.
NATHANIEL TAN hopes his Uncle Randy will get better soon, and is grateful for family and friends. Thank you for all the support. He tweets @NatAsasi.
A new method I would like to try involves writing one article to elaborate on one hypothesis, and then use future articles to explore how unfolding affairs support or detract from this hypothesis, using the original article as a reference.
Here is today’s hypothesis: One of the most defining features in Malaysian politics across the board since the 13th general election is its absence of any direction, caused primarily by power vacuums.
‘Across the board’ indicates that this applies to Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Rakyat and government institutions.Having direction means that an entity is progressing cohesively towards some clearly defined goal.
Nowadays, the only vague goal for most movers and shakers in Malaysia seems to be either stay in power, get power, or get more power.
Nothing else seems clearly defined, and no one on either side of the political divide is successfully championing a clear vision for his or her organisation or the country.
Instead, politicians seem to invest a major part of their time and energy fighting one another, while the rest of us are largely left to fend for ourselves, adrift on the open sea.
General silent, colonels run rampant
In lieu of firm leadership, we see our landscape defined first and foremost by power vacuums.
When it becomes clear that the nominal general is weak, quiet, indecisive, otherwise occupied, or all of the above, the colonels and majors will sit around for a while, their weapons idle, waiting for something to happen.
Like Tolkien’s ‘One True Ring’, however, weapons and soldiers find a way of using themselves. After too much time where nothing of sufficient significance happens, the situation slowly deteriorates to a free for all, with everyone starting to look out for number one - usually at the expense of whoever appears to be number two or three.
Often times, camps form, each trying to outdo one another. Usually, by the time the generals realise their mistakes, it is too late, and the situation has got out of control.
I am not sufficiently well-versed in Umno politics to know all the details, but I get the impression that behind the scene, all sorts of knives are out for for Najib Abdul Razak.
On the other side, each Pakatan party appears to have gone its own way, perhaps losing faith in Anwar Ibrahim, a man who has clearly lost a great deal of clout in his own party (look no further for proof than the PKR electoral mess).Meanwhile, individuals who are supposed to be public servants have taken it upon themselves to be public masters instead, apparently accountable to no elected official. The most prime examples of late are the inspector-general of police and the Majilis Agama Islam Selangor (Mais).
Game of Thrones fans will have no trouble recognising the scenario wherein when the king dies and the centre becomes weak. Then, every lord in the realm starts to think he can start acting like a king - untouchable in his own domain.
The antithesis of Mahathir
I aim to elaborate on the examples above and more in my next article, but in coming back to examining the theory of what is happening, perhaps the most efficient illumination is a comparison with Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s era.
Mahathir was the quintessential strongman politician. His philosophy was basically ‘my way or the highway’. (Although in many cases, his way was the highway. The more and the more expensive, the merrier.)
The way to establish this hard-nosed reputation is, of course, to be brutal with your enemies. Mahathir’s political career is strewn with people he destroyed, crushing them left and right to serve as an example to others who might dare entertain notions of defying his will.
This he did successfully, eventually to the point where everyone probably knew that to openly challenge Mahathir was political suicide. Everyone knew who the boss was, and everyone knew that when he said jump, the only question they needed to ask was “How high?” Thus, everyone was kept in line.Najib’s style is the opposite. Where Mahathir was a visionary who passionately believed in the things he wanted to build, Najib seems interested primarily in building his bank account, and little else.
A man driven by mediocre greed will never inspire confidence or achieve as much as a man driven by genuine passion. Under Najib, no one is kept in line any longer. When colonels and majors start smelling weakness, then there is open defiance - the first sign of impending collapse.
New solutions
One can easily argue that Mahathir was an effective leader. I cannot emphasise enough that this does not mean that I believe he was a good leader. I could use as another example of an effective, but not necessarily good, leader - namely, a German individual from the mid 20th century - but urban legend has it that that would make me instantly lose the argument.
Although I’m sure some will consider this position naive, I do not for a second believe that one must be as brutal, merciless or have as blatant a disregard for human rights as Mahathir was in order to be an effective leader.
I am saying that one must be a passionate visionary in order to lead effectively. Severely misplaced though Mahathir’s vision was, his unbending resolve kept everyone moving in the same (mostly wrong) direction.
The point of all this comparison is to argue that the best way to understand what is happening around us in Malaysia in the here and now is within the context of a power vacuum and failure of leadership.
Tomorrow, and whenever more relevant events unfold, I will continue to offer more empirical analysis in the hope of correctly identifying the root cause of our political problems, that we might be in a better position to solve them.
While much of this analysis - being descriptive in nature - will focus on professional politicians, this in no way detracts from my core (prescriptive) belief that the solution to our problems will ultimately lie not in our politicians, but in ordinary Malaysians like you and me.
Identifying exactly how best we might play the roles we need to may take a little more time, but I continue to believe in the necessity of that endeavour.
NATHANIEL TAN hopes his Uncle Randy will get better soon, and is grateful for family and friends. Thank you for all the support. He tweets @NatAsasi.
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