NO WONDER UMNO HAS FALLEN: Thoughts from Dr M

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in a recent blog entry (chedet, November 25, 2014) called for Umno members to be brave in openly criticising their leaders.

He also made a number of other observations as follows:

• “Without criticism, leaders will believe everything they do is correct. But in reality, it may be wrong.”

• A "warlord culture" exists to the point where bright and talented members are being sidelined.

• The party’s grassroots is being dominated by mediocre leaders.

• Only new members who do not threaten the position of their leaders at all levels are accepted.

• “Because of this disappointment, those who have talent are going into other parties.”

Stripping away any reference to Umno, Dr M’s observations hit a number of home truths. They are a stark and resonant commentary on the state of our Malaysia, which I would like to comment on.

Be brave in criticising leaders

We ought not to have to be brave to enjoy our constitutional/civil liberties to criticise our leaders.

Instead, our leaders need to remind themselves that criticism is an expression of a view and is a fundamental right of citizenry.

Sadly though, this call to be brave is a reflection of the current environment of excessive and selective use of various statutes to stifle any form of criticism.

We harp on the need to teach our future generations to think and extol the virtues of a less institutionalised and strait-jacketed thinking society, but the actions of late speak much louder than the words for moderation which are being spoken

Leaders believe everything they do is correct

Our leaders continue to believe they are here to rule not serve.

They persist with the notion that government knows best.

The rakyat are being shortchanged if they cannot expect to be served by those whom they have elected to lead.

The rakyat should be the focus of service of the government but instead we are asked to be grateful for what our politicians do for us as elected representatives.

Any thanks is best left to the voting booth. No more and no less.

Mediocrity has become institutionalised

It is so easy to introduce and accept mediocrity. All it entails is a lowering of standards.

Once introduced, it is not easy to unravel, simply because mediocrity breeds aggressively.

Mediocrity shuns and hinders any attempt at excellence because to do otherwise would jeopardise its very survival.

As a nation we have promoted and accepted mediocrity to permeate so many sectors of our system to the extent that core components of our society, including education, productivity, and basic economic competencies have been compromised.

Talent is being sidelined

This is an obvious and material consequence of mediocrity. In Malaysia, it is reflected in the brain drain of many talented Malaysians in quest of better prospects outside of Malaysia. It would be naïve to think that the brain drain is driven by salaries alone.

The reality is that the brain drain has a large part to do with the lack of recognition of merit in education, work and career opportunities.

Conclusion

Dr Mahathir’s advice and commentary on the above issues needs to be seriously considered if we as a country are to move forward as a nation and as member of the global arena.

They are observations which our political leaders should take on as matters of self realisation.

They are a reminder of what the majority of Malaysians see as core weaknesses in our system which need to be addressed for the future.

They are a reminder to our leaders on how we would like to be governed. –TMI