Deport violators of SOPs? Who will take our politicians?

 

Reports have surfaced of errant foreign workers in Malaysia gathering and flouting the pandemic rules.

A senior government minister immediately said that stern action will be taken against the offenders and they could be deported.

In fact, a few days prior to this statement by the minister, the immigration authorities through their social media channels, also made the same declaration.

I think all people in Malaysia, from citizens to permanent residents and guest workers, should be subjected to the laws, SOPs, and temporary pandemic rules.

I agree that violators ought to be taken to task and brought to book.

Most importantly, any action must be done in a clear and transparent manner, with proper avenues available for appealing any decision. I reckon most rational Malaysians would agree that tough times call for tough measures.

The problem starts when the enforcement of these rules appear to be somewhat selective, biased and opaque. Especially when politicians and high-profile individuals get away with meagre fines or worse, just a slap on the wrist.

Because information is so readily obtainable, what happens in other parts of the world is available to most Malaysians. Our people have access to read and watch what happens in other countries.

There, prominent people, namely leaders and politicians who break their country’s pandemic rules, have gotten into serious trouble.

In many instances, the punishment is harsher than a simple fine. They have either been fired or they have had to resign of their own volition after realising that their positions were untenable.

I am sure you can imagine that for a politician, losing their job would be far more painful than any fine.

In Ireland, for example, their agriculture minister, Dara Calleary, resigned because he played golf, breaching their SOPs. A Canadian finance minister, Rod Phillips, resigned after going on a Caribbean holiday during the pandemic.

Jordan’s interior and justice ministers both resigned after attending a dinner party at a restaurant that violated the coronavirus restrictions that their own ministries were supposed to enforce.

The UK’s health secretary (minister), Matt Hancock resigned after he was found flouting social distancing rules that he helped to create, by embracing and smooching with an aide in his office, enraging the public.

There are so many more examples of leaders resigning or getting the boot for not following the rules.

Whereas here in Malaysia, it’s a totally different story.

Many “woke” Malaysians argue that the spike in the Covid-19 cases we see in the country are caused by irresponsible and errant members of the public. The daily figures speak for themselves, they say.

Just a few days ago, during the Aidil Adha period, it was reported that more than 13,000 vehicles carrying people across state borders were stopped and told to turn around.

Social media was alight with accusations of irresponsibility. Is it the fault of the public that they attempted to travel?

Or is it the strangeness of the government’s decision to impose the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) when the daily infection rate was hovering around 6,000 cases but oddly decided to lift the EMCO when the daily rate was hitting 12,000 to 13,000 daily infections?

Let me state categorically that I am not defending anyone who is even contemplating breaking the SOPs. I am for the rules, because like you, I want to get back to normalcy as soon as we can.

But don’t these decisions, coupled with the behaviour and ease with which our YBs get away with misdemeanours, send the wrong signal to the general population?

Ideally, we should hold our leaders to a higher standard because they are in the public eye, and we should rightly expect much better behaviour from them.

In the corporate world, leaders are often seen as heroes.

They motivate us to do things we would not ordinarily do. They are needed to change organisations and more significantly to produce results.

It is, therefore, hardly surprising that management researchers focus persistently on what the attributes of successful leadership are.

In my 25-year journey in management, leadership is simply about “…do as I do, not just as I say”

It is so apparent that people who just talk and don’t follow their own advice are never respected.

For example, we have a government that has passionately resisted reconvening parliament on the grounds of public safety, and haven’t allowed our 222 parliamentarians to debate and work out solutions for this crisis.

But then, you see the head of the very same government congregate with some 300 people for prayers. Where’s the concern for public safety then?

Doesn’t this look like “…just do as I say, forget about what I actually do”?

When asking the public to follow the stringent rules and procedures to combat this pandemic, leaders need to understand that people won’t simply follow the rules because you told them to do so.

The reality is that everybody has to have somebody to emulate. Leaders, therefore, have to be authentic. People need to see you follow the rules too.

And if you break the law, they need to know that you will also be taken to task, like them.

Then, they will follow you. And the whole of Malaysia will fall in line.

In marketing parlance, people don’t buy “what” you sell, instead they buy “why” you sell it.

And for your “why” to be understood, you must act in a way that is congruent to what you are saying.

In essence you must lead by example

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, not a single high-profile leader who has violated the SOPs has had the integrity to voluntarily stand down, or has been told to vacate their position by their bosses.

When leaders themselves are SOP violators, where should we send them? - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.