Shape of a Pocket

By Jacqueline Ann Surin, The Nut Graph

OVER the past few weeks of intense political developments from Perak to Selangor, and the resulting flurry of news-making, one thing remains clear.

We are a nation of leaders short on principles.

Whether upcoming or high-ranking, whether from the Pakatan Rakyat or the Barisan Nasional, whether women or men, the kind of rhetoric we've been hearing about a host of issues has been disappointing.

Specifically, in two cases that have jostled for the headlines recently, I am convinced that as a nation, we sorely need principled leadership.

In my previous column, the principle of democracy and the rakyat's right to choose were raised in response to the numerous demands for the Sultan of Perak's decision to be respected and unchallenged. The way I see it as a citizen, cries of treason, sedition, banishment, incarceration, and murder are too easy a cover for a lack of respect for the democratic principles our nation was founded on.

The sidelining of other important principles has also been evident in the recent furore over the exposure of intimate photos of Elizabeth Wong.

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