how can Pak Lah outshine Dr Mahathir

January 11, 2007, 4:05 pm
Filed under: thinking life style

How Pak Lah can out shine Dr Mahathir

The former prime minister has launched
Malaysia in the forefront of international

Limelight in many fields. What you need is money. Just RM 95 million and a RM1.3 billion arm deal with Russia will make us an instant space bound nation. The Petronas
Twine Tower is an all powerful statement of our status as a fast rising developing nation. But, will this construction project impress the wise and experienced political analyst ?

The former premier is a super achiever. He has done extraordinary things for this nation.
Malaysia has become famous in a short decade of two The economic report card scores high marks.

However, the greatness of a nation is not measured by what one single individual can do for the country.

Real greatness in leadership is not measured by what extra ordinary accomplishments in things like buildings, fame, all kind of records of physical feats, but is indicated by a leader’s ability to inspire ordinary citizen to achieve extraordinary things.

How can Pak Lah outshine and out perform Dr Mahathir ? During his reign as head of
Malaysia incorporate, his reputation has traveled far and wide. If Pak Lah is willing, Dr Mahathir’s “success” can easily pale into Insignificance compare to what is the ultimate measure of a successful leader.

Build a nation of thinkers.

There is no substitute for the ability to use one’s greatest asset, the mind. A sharp mind is a panacea for inferiority complex. A cure for low self esteem. An antidote for the need to ask for special privilege. A recipe to solve unemployment. A permanent solution to drug addiction. An answer to illegal motor cycle race. A solution to loitering and boredom.

How to develop the mind? How to cultivate the habit of using one’s thinking power?

1. The motivation to read, speak and write as a way of life.

Reading makes a full man, Speaking makes a ready man and writing makes an exact man.

A person’s earning capacity is an exact reflection of his communication skills.

The human mind needs mental food as much as stomach need physicalfood.. No mind can remain sharp and alert without constant stimulating and exercise.

2. Pak Lah, needs to encourage TV stations to promote reading as a life style. The days of using TV as a drug to dull the citizen’s minds and opium to entertain the bored and restless are numbered. It should be a new platform to promote discussion on national issues. Some other instructive, beneficial activity arising from TV is in order. The nation can read a book together, and invite feedbacks and comments from readers in TV show. Make a national hero out of debating exercise and contest. Give tax incentives to business and company that encourage the reading habit. The millions of fund save from having to treat the effects of social ill related activities and prevent youths from going astray by the drug, ecstasy pill and smoking culture is a great reason to channel our resources to reading. National resilience is the outcome of a commitment to constant disciplined reading.

He who does not read is no better than he who cannot read !! Malaysian average reading of two books a year is definitely a national mental disaster.

3. Use the press to promote the culture of expressing one’s thought rationally and in cool, level-headed manner is a cure for fear of riot among the races. We can celebrate our cultural, religious and traditional differences, only if all of us are at par intellectually. Get all Malaysians , especially the Malays to join Toastmaster International club meeting . They will be rewarded by cross pollination of ideas from other races. The willingness to learn is a key to greatness. The greatest obstacle to clear thinking is arrogance. Ignorance and arrogance are brothers and sisters.

4. .Set up a school for aspiring politicians. Let the best candidates win from this intellectual combat school. If there are enough training and exchange of ideas, and conflict management, the cream will rise naturally. Let the best man win should be the open policy and philosophy of the school. Good politicians are a crop of cultivation and not grown wild. Politicians should no longer be the scum of the earth. “Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is Thought necessary”- Robert Louis Stevenson(1850-1894).

An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.

-Simon Cameron (1799-1889)-

He knows nothing; he thinks he knows everything-that clearly points to a political career. –George Bernard Shaw- .

The days will come , hopefully, when such words of contempt will not be

associated with politics. Let’s hope Pak Lah will be the first PM in the

world to initial such a school.. Openness to new ideas is a passport to

growth and advancement. .

“ Every negative thought, every excuse, every doubt entertain in our quest to set up such a school to bring forth a new breed of state man, who is beyond financial corruption and abuse of power, is a down payment we already made for an obligation to fail. g The tender and fragile thought of such a possibility must be executed with determination and persistence.

A superstar cannot be produced over night, neither can a good state man be nurture instantly. The long journey of a thousand mile to begin the process of educating such a crop of ideal state man must start with the first step. Let’s just do it . Has Pak Lah the vision and courage to implement such a noble idea to reform politics and transform future leaders ?