WEAK MALAY LEADERS LET MALAYSIA DOWN: Last 3 PMs incl Dr M were disasters but Najib the WORST

If Malaysians are to go by the historical assessment of this country since its inception in 1957, the height of the prowess of Malay leadership was probably prior to and after Merdeka or Independence from the British colonialists.

The era of Tunku Abdul Rahman and his astute leadership was responsible for being able to wrought independence from the British along with the assistance of Chinese and Indian community leaders forging a unified bond to oust the British.

The Tunku was seen as a charismatic leader who was loved by every Malaysian and he is arguably Malaysia’s greatest ever leader. There is no denying that he subscribed fully to democracy and unlike the prime ministers of this era, he did not tinker with democracy but practiced pure democracy.

But his replacement, Tun Abdul Razak, was viewed by many as an ultra Malay chauvinist and a deviant from the leadership skills of the Tunku. He was seen as a spoiler and the rot immediately set in upon him coming on as prime minister.

Thankfully he did not last long, succumbing to leukemia, but did lasting damage to the nation through his implementation of the New Economic Policy, a supposedly affirmative action policy to assist bumiputeras (indigenous people).

His successor, Hussein Onn, spent some years as the prime minister maintaining the status quo before he stepped down due to health reasons only to be replaced by Malaysia’s most controversial Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

Mahathir Mohammad

Dr M

Considered as a maverick politician, Mahathir Mohammad failed to live up to his billing though he brought about a sweeping transformation of the country by changing the economy from agrarian-based to manufacturing, oil & gas and construction and taking the country towards industrialization.

In the first few years of his tenure as prime minister, Mahathir found the going tough but by tinkering with policies, the social contract and silencing critics and dissenters, he began to get things done his way and governed with impunity.

Eventually his governance turned into totalitarian rule as he became highly autocratic and authoritarian in his ways. Western powers considered him to be a dictator and though he became unpopular with many locally and abroad, he was dogged and determined to do things his way.

This led to a stifling of human rights and civil liberties and the establishment of the minority elite in this country. His great claim of having brought about development and economic growth was negated and nullified by the oppression and tyranny of the ordinary rakyat.

By using his most favored weapon, the hated Internal Security Act, Mahathir moved to quell the opposition to his ways and had sweeping powers of control over the country and the people which he used to enrich his family, cronies and sycophants.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

When Mahathir retired as the prime minister, he set up Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and it was an accepted role by the latter that he be manipulated with like a puppet on a string. From the back stage, it was like a ‘wayang kulit’ (shadow play) with Mahathir barking the instructions to Badawi.

Initially it was going well and to plan but with the passing of time Badawi showed that he had a mind of his own. Unfortunately, he did not learn the ropes well enough and though upon emerging as the Prime Minister Barisan Nasional (BN) won a landslide 11th GE, the next general election was a failure.

This was when pressure began to mount on the Badawi Administration and he began to falter further. By being weak in his ways and lacking a real sound and practical understanding of the workings of politics, Badawi was a lame duck prime minister.

It wasn’t long after the 12th GE that he was asked to step down as BN experienced a political tsunami and the opposition coalition of Pakatan Rakyat began to make great strides among the people of Malaysia. Badawi was blamed and heckled by Mahathir and it was not long before he got the boot.

Najib Tun Razak

PM Najib

Badawi’s deputy, Najib Tun Razak, was the logical successor. In the beginning the retired Mahathir thought Najib will set right the so called “wrongs” of the Badawi era. The popular and likeable Najib, riding on the name of his father, the second prime minister of Malaysia, was initially doing well.

But it wasn’t long before his wife Rosmah began to hog the limelight with her lavish and opulent lifestyle and began to usurp the powers of Najib. Rosmah began to assert greater control over the governance of the country by calling the shots while Najib slithered into the shadows.

Things got from bad to worse for the BN government as they lost further ground in the 13th GE and this began to prompt calls by Mahathir for Najib to step down. Mahathir asserted that Najib was weak and incompetent as a leader.

A string of disastrous wheeling and dealing in several government-linked organizations that was brought to the open by whistle blowers led to Najib’s popularity taking a deep dive and the nation thrown into a state of chaos and confusion with many Malaysians believing that Najib was even worse than Badawi.

Weak Malay leaders

While the three first prime ministers have since deceased, the other three prime ministers remain and they continue to bicker and back-bite at each other though people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

Malaysians who view the on-going proceedings are in agreement that these three prime ministers are no good for the country as leaders as they are selfish, self-seeking individuals who have fuelled corruption, collusion and nepotism in the governance of this country.

This is why Malaysians are calling for the prime minister to be selected from across the population and be open to any Malaysian citizen irrespective of race and religion as the leadership pool currently offered by the Malays are weak.

But will the majority Malay-Muslim nation of Malaysia be open to the idea and agree that it is time to look beyond the color of the skin of a person and what is expected is to see if the person of prime minister of Malaysia can deliver the goods and lead this nation forward in a globalized world?

This is the crux question for Malaysians to answer and a real test of their political maturity. - MAILBAG