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| Najib to fail as a leader? |
And now Najib and Rosmah! Are they about to fail?
Not bloody likely they might say! Well let us look at why leaders fail...well they are leaders in a sense.Rosmah is First Lady and Najib is the first amongst equal in BN. For Rosmah I would think that the distance between beloved First Lady to being a has been once Najib leaves office is not that far...but I am getting ahead of myself here. Let us start at the beginning.
Let us discuss why Najib and will fail as a leader. The tell tales sign are already there.
First warning sign: Slip in ETHICS.
What Najib does (competency) and who Najib is (character) will determine his credibility as a leader. If the two are incompatible then his integrity comes into question. Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching....and when people are watching too! What sort of things?
- Allowing Rosmah to accept a Hermes handbag as a present.
- Sending questionable sms to Razak Baginda while he is on trial for Altantuya's murder.
- Selecting Isa Samad, already convicted for corruption, to be BN's candidate in a bye election.
- Saying that he will leave PDRM to decide the fate of the arrested Bersih activist -when we know that PDRM takes their instructions from him.
- Offering RM5 Million to Sibu's electorates to vote for BN's candidate etc etc.
When integrity is compromised for political convenience then the down ward slide to failure starts. You lose empathy with the people and use your followers for your own ends.
No more is this more in evidence then with your decision to go head to head with Bersih 2.0 to stop their proposed rally. This confirms your lack of empathy with what the people of this country really wants. You used PDRM, Perkasa, Pemuda UMNO and others to serve your initial decision to stop the rally.Now all these people on both sides will question your credibility and integrity as a leader....or the lack of it!
The same can be said about your handling of corruption, money politics, nepotism and transparency in government. Cakap bukan serupa bikin.
Second warning sign : A Shift in Focus
In Najib's first address as Prime Minister he emphasized:
- ONE MALAYSIA.
- PEOPLE FIRST.
- PERFORMANCE NOW.
He lifted the temporary ban on Harakah and Suara Keadilan and released 13 ISA detainees. Truly an auspicious start because what you did is what the people wanted you to do!
Then you announced your intentions to make Malaysia a stable high income economy. But instead of reforms in the three key areas - civil, political and economic - the areas where reforms were required if our transition to a high income economy is to be a reality, you focused on short term gains.
Political and social reforms were ignored for the expediency of winning bye elections. Tainted candidates, character assassination, outright lies and deception, money politics, overt and covert physical and psychological threats - anything and everything was kosher if it means BN wins. If Mahathir used money politics to his advantage, you Najib dragged Malaysian politics into the gutter. You will eventually see that once started gutter politics will not cease until it consumes you!
Your shift of focus from Malaysia and its People to BN and its need to hold on to power indicates that you have lost sight of what is important for the people of this nation. You are now distracted by the trappings of being Prime Minister - wealth and power. The need to have Kings attend the grand engagement of your daughter! Your tacit agreement to have your wife proclaimed First Lady of Malaysia! The air brushing of her image for vanity sake. You are now consumed by these trivial and unnecessary details. Surely a Prime Minister have better things to focus on? National issues!
Mr Prime Minister what you do defines who you are. You need to focus and lead on what you promised to do in your first public speech as Prime Minister.
- ONE MALAYSIA.
- PEOPLE FIRST.
- PERFORMANCE NOW.
Warning sign: Poor Communication:
There are so many economic and social initiatives being wheeled out - enough to confuse everyone else with the possible exception of those experts or czars that you appoint to these programs to make it happen.This transformation and that rationalization and then more restructuring. There seems to be a lack of focus to do what is at hand - which is to improve the lot of the people. Every perceived problem is handled by another initiative, another program or another "think tank" to come up with solutions.
We the people are bewildered by these many initiatives and we are sure, so are your followers in BN. You cannot hide or bury the economic and social problems of our nation under these various programs. Your failure to communicate their functions to the people clearly further makes us question your work as our Prime Minister.
And to further confuse us you use APCO to communicate with us. Mr Prime Minister we do not need to hear the double speak of APCO to understand that our country has a social and political problem. You might not be the master communicator as Clinton is but there is now a failure to communicate between you and the people of this nation. Just remember this Najib: If you do what is right and tell the truth you do not have to remember anything. “Say what you mean, and mean what you say.” Clarity of purpose will serve you well!
Warning Sign : Risk Aversion
After your initial release of the 13 ISA detainee what happened? We know it would need courage and a belief in your own convictions for you to abolish the ISA. We now know that you lacked that courage.
Why not meet the challenge of an effective and well organized opposition in Parliament lead by DSAI head on? Demonstrate to the people that what Pakatan Rakyat can do in the states they control, your government can do better in the states BN control? Do away with money politics in UMNO and BN. Start the process of ensuring fair and open election. Give Kelantan what is their due of the Oil Royalties from Petronas. Tell Rosmah that she is Mrs Najib and not First Lady....but all these you can only do if you are prepared to face the possible adverse ramifications to your position as President of UMNO and of course husband to Rosmah!
You fear the possibility of failing when you meet Pakatan Rakyat on a level playing field. You fear losing the support within UMNO if you do not pander to the wishes of UMNO's warlords to field tainted candidates. You fear to lose the presidency of UMNO -fear it enough that you will not risk the changes and reforms UMNO needed to win back the support of Malays in the 13th general elections. And for these fears you have failed as a leader.
For Najib these warning signs have been there from the time he became Prime Minister. It would be for him to heed the warning signs. Ignore them and the people will ignore you and BN at the next general election - if they have not already done so!
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