Where’s the competency in our leaders?

 

Malaysia needs competent leaders. Period.

We need leaders who have a combination of training, skills, experience, and knowledge that allows them to function effectively, and perform tasks efficiently. These competencies need to be coupled with an unstinting passion for the country, public service, and a commitment to principled leadership.

As a management consultant and leadership coach, I always ask the people I consult and coach to focus on increasing their competencies. This is the only way to develop a strong work-ethic; to foster a dynamic work-culture; to build a more connected organisation; and to establish a competitive edge.

But every time the Malaysian parliament convenes to show us our leaders; the ones we elected to discuss, scrutinise, and debate public policy for the nation, do we actually witness competent people in action?

Last week, when trying to discuss something important in Parliament, mayhem ensued. Forty minutes were spent on a screaming and slanging match. All sides of parliament had protagonists. One side was howling and asking the Putrajaya member of parliament to sit down after he claimed his reputation was tarnished by the prime minister.

The other side was defying the speaker of the house, and eventually started howling – go figure. It was a total meltdown that led to the opposition staging a walk out. Upon doing this, the opposition called for a press conference in Parliament itself, and took their protest to the media.

It wasn’t that long ago that Malaysians would laugh at the shenanigans in Parliament, and especially the state assemblies in India. All out fights would break out, and sometimes chairs would be thrown. And, it looks like our parliament is sliding down the same slope.

Already the verbal abuse is pretty nasty in the chamber. How long will it take before fisty-cuffs start and chairs get thrown about? There is a sense of shamelessness in the parliamentarians we have elected. There is no sense of decorum, no urgency to make good their electoral promises, no clear direction for navigating the country, no fear that with their behaviour the country will deteriorate further; none whatsoever.

All we see are sardonic smiles and smirks, while our parliamentarians go about scoring points off each other. They seem to only focus on bringing the “other-side” down. There is no commitment to repairing the country. Just a commitment to prop-up their side of the political divide.

How can we expect good work-product from this Parliament, when it is like a circus? Nearly everyone on the government and the opposition benches acts like an incarnation of the world famous, “Bozo the Clown.”

Does work ever get done in the Malaysian parliament? Seemingly not.

We know that in corporate Malaysia, when individual contributors increase their competence, ultimately, it ensures that a company has consistent performance standards for everyone. This is how top-notch modern companies deliver phenomenal stakeholder results. But why are we not applying this standard to the Malaysian parliament and government?

Malaysia needs competent people to be in Parliament and to lead the government. We need leaders who bring everyone together, and navigate the country properly. The nation is reeling since 2018, with the destabilising of our government, and the aftermath of the pandemic.

Only when there is leadership competency, can we expect consistent standards delivered to the public. Naturally, this will make citizens feel confident about the way things are working out.

However, we consistently see our parliament morphing into chaos. At the same time, our prime minister struts around internationally boasting about Malaysia, while so many internal problems go unresolved. The incompetence of many ministers is clear for everyone to see. How then can ordinary Malaysians be confident?

As a nation, what are we getting at the moment?

A chaotic and confusing parliament; dithering and constant U-turns; ministers allocating money to constituencies just before by-elections, which sounds like a bribe, but they say it’s not; incompetent ministers who don’t seem to know what their job scope is; a polarised nation with religion being the main schism; the continued marginalisation of minority communities; and an underperforming economy.

And as this persists, the prime minister seems to be more interested in presiding over the conversion of non-Muslims to his faith. No doubt, it’s a great source of pride for him and the newly converted. But seemingly unaware, or rather not caring that it is causing shambolic optics for the multi-religious nation he leads.

What should every citizen expect during these tenuous times from our leaders?

We need our leaders to respond rapidly. We have a dire situation at hand, so the government needs to demonstrate that they are capable enough to respond quickly and honestly. If this is done properly, the public’s perception that we have competent leaders increases exponentially.

If our leaders continue to showboat and hobnob with movie stars, traversing the globe making speeches filled with platitudes, have shambolic parliamentary sessions, and fill up ministerial posts with incompetent people, then hopelessness continues.

It’s a shame to think of what Malaysia could be, but what it has become. - FMT

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